Ben Anderson: At trade deadline, Jazz need minor tweaks, not major changes


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SALT LAKE CITY — The NBA’s trade deadline will pass Thursday at 1 p.m. MT, and the Jazz, with a bevy of draft picks, movable young pieces and salary cap space, are likely to explore their options to improve their current roster, as they seek their first playoff berth since 2012.

The Jazz could also look to grow their deep bank account of assets if the right opportunity presented itself, without depleting their current roster.

After signing Rudy Gobert to a four-year contract, set to kick in after this season, with Gordon Hayward coming off his first All-Star appearance and George Hill appearing capable of manning the lead ball-handling position for the Jazz for the next several seasons, at this trade deadline, the Jazz are in need of minor tweaks, not major upgrades.

Where in past seasons, including this most recent offseason there was a mandate on the Jazz to make significant improvements to the roster to prove their competitiveness, this team has borne the fruit of a lengthy rebuild and should be allowed to reveal its ceiling more before abandoning its current makeup.

The Jazz have two first-round draft picks this season, their own, likely to land in the mid-20s by season’s end, and a pick owed to them by the Golden State Warriors, which will be the final pick of the first round. The Jazz own all of their own future first-round picks and are owed a first rounder (protected picks 1-14) next year by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Jazz are $14 million under the NBA’s salary cap, and $4.6 million below the salary floor, meaning the Jazz could take in as much as $14 million in salary before worrying about any luxury tax penalty. Being under the salary floor means the Jazz have yet to pay out the required amount of salary due to their roster by the current collective bargaining agreement. The Jazz must spend this $4.6 million by the end of the season, or be forced to distribute it to the current members of their roster.

With those assets in mind, the Jazz would be wise to utilize their available cap space to take on additional talent, or serve as a landing spot for a team looking to unload salary for a player they can no longer afford. Traditionally, in those trades, the Jazz would also get either a future first-round draft pick or young talent on an inexpensive contract.

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ESPN has floated two rumors that involve the Jazz at the deadline.

The first, that the Jazz have explored the market for power forward Derrick Favors because they are needing to clear salary cap space in future years to resign both Hayward and Hill. The Jazz would likely look for future draft picks or a player on a smaller salary that could fill a better role alongside Gobert in the frontcourt.

Losing Favors would be a talent downgrade, as at his peak, he’s capable of playing, and defending both frontcourt positions, and has developed a midrange game that could add years to his career. However, he doesn’t space the floor well enough to fit with the Jazz long term and his body has broken down to the point where his rim protection is no longer what it once was.

The second rumor is that the Jazz have shown interest in Lakers guard Lou Williams. Williams is a reserve wing in Los Angeles with value to help a contender. The Lakers are looking to move Williams in order to accelerate their rebuild, and they could use a first-round draft pick in return.

The Jazz could offer any of the four first-round picks they own over the next two seasons and find a major improvement in pure wing scoring with Williams in the fold.

There is likely to be competition for the services of Williams, making a Thursday deadline deal the most plausible scenario, unless the Lakers find a deal to valuable to pass up before then. Williams is represented by the same agent as Favors, which could help or hurt a move to Salt Lake City.

If Favors’ representation is happy with how the Jazz have handled his client in Utah, that could facilitate a quicker move to a friendly environment. If the agent feels the Jazz have mishandled the Jazz ability to extend Favors' contract, he could steer the Lakers and Jazz away from a deal that could benefit both teams.

While the Sacramento Kings initiated a long overdue rebuild by trading DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans, who now look to compete for the playoffs in the West for the next several seasons, the Jazz aren’t in need of changing the long-term direction of the franchise before Thursday’s deadline. As other general managers look to make big swings this week for their team's futures, the Jazz would be wise to make minor tweaks to support a growing foundation, rather than to make earthshaking moves that could break it to pieces.


![Ben Anderson](http://img.ksl.com/slc/2556/255612/25561254\.jpg?filter=ksl/65x65)
About the Author: Ben Anderson ------------------------------

Ben Anderson is the co-host of Gunther and Ben 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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