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According to multiple reports, the Utah Jazz have traded Miye Oni, along with a second round pick, to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Utah Jazz are finalizing a deal to send Miye Oni to the Oklahoma City Thunder, League Sources tell @ShamsCharania and myself
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) January 4, 2022
Oklahoma City is acquiring Utah's Miye Oni and a 2028 second-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Thunder will waive Oni and open up a roster spot ahead of the February trade deadline. Utah saves money and opens a roster spot too.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 4, 2022
This benefits the Jazz in two ways. It opens a roster spot and saves them with their tax bill.
If Utah waived Oni outright, the tax bill would have been $30.3M.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 4, 2022
By not having a dead cap hit, tax penalty gets reduced to $27.9M.
$2.4M in savings from the trade
Similar to the Valentine trade with NYK but instead of OKC getting cash, they get a 2nd rd. pick. https://t.co/kPKN8HDToA
This certainly feels like the first of maybe more dominos for the Jazz. Saving $2.4 Million is nice, but it isn’t a huge amount. Perhaps the Jazz are in talks for more things. It wouldn’t be surprising considering all the trade rumors that have been out there. The trade deadline is in February but the Jazz would be smart to make a move quickly if they plan on incorporating someone into their infamously difficult-to-learn system.
Although (puts on tinfoil hat), maybe they planned on this. They have simplified their offense this year, and their defensive scheme has been mostly lead players to Rudy Gobert and let him do the job. Bringing in a defensive specialist who doesn’t have to do too much on offense could be a relatively simple transition. Only time will tell.
As far as Miye Oni, it’s a shame that none of the picks the Jazz made in 2019 panned out. Along with Jarrell Brantley and Justin Wright-Foreman, Miye Oni is the last of the players Utah drafted in the second round of 2019. Oni had shown some flashes in the recent Olympics but nothing panned out this year during the regular season. Best of luck to Miye Oni!
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