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SALT LAKE CITY— Here is some very not breaking news. No one is exactly sure what that Jazz are going to do.
The trade deadline is 10 days away and the Jazz have basically every option available to make a trade or stand pat and see how the chips fall. However, everyone is talking about what the Jazz could or should do to change their team.
The alleged trade partners for the Jazz have changed and really gone through about every team in the NBA. Trade suggestions to trade with the Celtics, Grizzlies, Rockets and Clippers have been around for a while. Now there are more names popping up that could be involved.
The big name that popped up early last week was Al Jefferson going to the Spurs via Chris Sheridan. His base thinking on this trade includes the thought that the two front offices are very close. Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey worked for the Spurs last year and now they have instant communication.
He does write that there are people saying that a trade will happen, "Figuring out who is available is not rocket science if you speak to the right people, and I speak to a lot of plugged-in people on a regular basis.
"Here is the latest they are telling me: The San Antonio Spurs are the front-runners to land Al Jefferson in a trade with the Utah Jazz - and they are frontrunners like Secretariat was in the 1973 Belmont Stakes."
The trade would send Jefferson to the Spurs and the Jazz would get Patty Mills, Tiago Splitter, Stephen Jackson and a European prospect named Erazem Lorbek. The keys are Mills and Splitter, while Jackson would just be to match salaries.
This trade had a lot of people talking. From the regulars on Twitter to a few older people at Energy Solutions Arena talking about it this brought up a lot of interest.
Ultimately the trade would boil down to whether or not the Jazz feel Mills, Splitter or Lorbek would be a big key in the future. Lindsey and Kevin O'Connor have repeatedly said they won't make a trade simply to make a trade. The team believes in Jefferson as a scorer and a main cog for their team.
Most trade rumors operate under the assumption that the Jazz need a point guard. Rant Sports' Shahab Khan wrote about that as the Jazz's most pressing need.
"Options are out there for the Jazz to get the point guard they need," Khan wrote. "The trade deadline is fast approaching and that might be the best avenue to trade one of their expiring contracts or a big man to solidify their point guard position for the future. The Jazz have always had their best shot at going deep into the playoffs with the likes of Williams and John Stockton paving the way for the team. Without that quality point guard the team will stay in the middle of the pack for years to come."
One person who doesn't think that is the case is the injured Mo Williams. Bill Simmons of ESPN talked about the Jazz needing a point guard and Williams didn't enjoy that one bit.
Williams went to Twitter to respond to Simmons, "What Bill Simmons talking about the jazz need a point guard. What position have I been playing all yr? #smh #espn #cmon"
That was slightly edited, but ultimately he wanted to show that he can and will play the point when he returns.
Another rumor is involving the point guard situation and the other injured star for the Jazz Gordon Hayward.
This comes from ESPN where they have heard of the Suns interested in getting Jefferson or Hayward. Their story came from Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
"According to Coro, the Suns have shown some interest in Utah's Al Jefferson and Gordon Hayward. There is a chance Dudley and Marcin Gortat could be part of an offer to Utah for Jefferson, who will be a free agent in July. Dudley is signed through 2015-16, although he could be a free agent in 2015 if he exercises the early termination option in his contract. Gortat will be a free agent in 2014."
Gortat is a stretch center who could open up the middle for the other big man that he is playing with, while Dudley is a shooting guard who has been a great shooter in his five years. Granted either of those would only intensify the lack of minutes for the bigs and the wings.
This might be satisfied with the Suns Goran Dragic, a young point guard, but there isn't anything serious that would indicate a link there other than need.
10 days left until this is all over and the Jazz players will know their fate. Can they build for the future or will they just stand still and wait for an offseason where they have a lot of open money to make a move? Stay tuned.
