Kanter trade sets Jazz up for future blockbuster deal


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SALT LAKE CITY — With minutes left before the NBA’s trade deadline, the Utah Jazz traded Enes Kanter and veteran Steve Novak to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a future Thunder first round draft pick, a Detroit Pistons 2017 second round draft pick, the rights to prospects Tibor Pleiss and Grant Jerrett, and NBA veteran Kendrick Perkins.

At face value, the Jazz lost this trade, and they lost it by a wide margin. Kanter, a former No. 3 overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, was in his first full season as a starter, and contributing over 13 points and seven rebounds a game. Novak, while rarely used, is the type of shooter NBA championship contenders rely on to provide an offensive spark off the bench.

Kanter was to be a restricted free agent this summer, granting the Jazz the ability to match any contract offer sheet he may have received, and retain the 22-year-old big man for the foreseeable future. Novak had one year remaining on his contract, and could have provided veteran leadership to a Jazz team with the potential to make a playoff run as soon as next season.

Now, the Jazz are again looking to the future, hoping to cash in on future draft picks while developing the young talent already on the roster. But all is not lost.

Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert make a formidable front line with scoring, defense and length to spare. Gobert was the main catalyst for the Kanter trade, providing an elite defensive contribution in limited minutes off the bench. The trade also allows Favors to move to his more natural role at power forward, where his strength and athleticism matches that of the NBA’s other elite players at the position.

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The Jazz backcourt has promising young talent as well. Dante Exum, one of the league’s youngest players, is earning praise for his defense since taking the starting role at point guard from the high scoring but inconsistent Trey Burke. The Jazz signed Alec Burks to a four-year, $40 million deal this past summer, a deal set to kick in when Burks returns from shoulder surgery next season. With Kanter out of the picture, Burks' scoring punch should provide the Jazz with the offensive boost they currently lack on the wing.

As we’ve learned recently with Kanter, the ability to balance development and young egos in a locker room is not always easy, with some players destined to feel slighted in their minute distribution

This is where a future blockbuster trade may come in.

Blockbuster trades in the NBA are difficult to pull off, but the ones that are completed often feature similar elements; an All-Star with a large contract, expiring contracts, young talent and draft picks.

Perhaps the best example of this was the trade the Jazz completed with the former New Jersey Nets.

In exchange for Deron Williams, in this case the All-Star, the Jazz received an expiring contract in Devin Harris, young talent in Favors and future draft picks, which turned out to be Kanter and later Gorgui Dieng, who was traded for Burke.

Dennis Lindsey, the Jazz general manager, has set the current team up with the opportunity to conduct a similar trade, though this time with the roles slightly altered.


Blockbuster trades in the NBA are difficult to pull off, but the ones that are completed often feature similar elements; an All-Star with a large contract, expiring contracts, young talent and draft picks.

As stated earlier, the Jazz organization has several young valuable pieces, and while I don’t believe the Jazz would be willing to trade Favors, Gobert or Exum, I do think Burke, Burks and rookie Rodney Hood could be had for the right price.

In exchange for Alec Burks' $40 million contract, the Jazz could take back a veteran with an expiring, albeit expensive contract, in addition to a young player still under the NBA’s low-wage rookie contract. The Jazz could sweeten the deal with either Hood or Burke, both on their affordable rookie contracts, or by adding future draft picks.

This is where the Enes Kanter trade will help.

In addition to the future first-round pick the Jazz acquired in this deal, they are owed a 2017 first round draft pick by the Golden State Warriors from a previous deal involving Richard Jefferson and Andris Biedrins.

Over the weekend, the Jazz bought out the contract of Kendrick Perkins, essentially paying him to not join the team, and allowing him to sign with a team competing for the playoffs. Combine Perkins’ now-bought-out contract, which will come off the books this summer, and the $4 million the Jazz save by trading Novak, the Jazz find themselves nearly $20 million under the NBA’s projected 2015-16 salary cap.

This gives the Jazz plenty of room to acquire the previously mentioned expiring contract often present in a blockbuster trade, helping another team get under the salary cap, avoiding the NBA’s recently increased luxury tax, while forwarding the Jazz a potential star in the deal, or a young player with a promising future.

Blockbuster trades are difficult to complete and often require several specific assets. However, with the Jazz's latest trade deadline deal, Lindsey has the pieces in place to make a major trade, one that could catapult the Jazz to the next level in their development.


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About the Author: Ben Anderson ------------------------------

Ben Anderson is the co-host of Gunther in the Afternoon with Kyle Gunther on 1320 KFAN from 3-7, Monday through Friday. Read Ben's Utah Jazz blog at 1320kfan.com, and follow him on Twitter @BenKFAN.

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