Despite Bevy of Trades, Utah Jazz Only Add One New Player
The trade deadline is officially an afterthought of the 2024 NBA season, with players such as Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, Zach Lavine, Brandon Ingram and De’Aaron Fox all finding new homes.
Dubbed by many as one of the craziest trade deadlines of all time per NBA fans and media, it made sense for the rebuilding Jazz to be in the thick of it.
And they certainly were.
The Jazz were involved in the trade that shuttled Luka Doncic to Los Angeles.
Utah got into the trade that sent Jimmy Butler to Golden State.
Phoenix and the Jazz struck a non player oriented deal on trading draft picks.
The Clippers and Jazz engaged in business, finding middle ground on a multi player swap.
Utah was all over the trade market, constantly brought up, constantly involved.
But it wasn’t in the way many Jazz fans expected.
It wasn’t the team trading away veteran players at all, but more so playing the facilitator role to take on and move salary as well as snag some 2nd round picks when they would become available for their services.
John Collins, Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, perennial trade rumor darlings, are all still with the team.
In fact, for the Jazz being involved in as many trades as they were, Utah’s roster remains very similar to what it was when these deals began to solidify.
In pursuit of adding to their draft capital asset chest, Utah compiled a total of 6 new draft picks throughout multiple deals: One first rounder, five 2nd rounders.
I’ll let the professionals explain the 2nd rounders via Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune:
It all started by sending away Drew Eubanks and Patty Mills 5 days ago to the Los Angeles Clippers and in return receiving PJ Tucker, Mo Bamba and one of those 2nd round picks.
By subtracting two players and adding two players you would already imagine some roster changes moving forward for the Jazz.
In the heat of all this Utah would snag two more 2nd round picks and Jalen Hood-Schifino in the deal that sent Anthony Davis to Dallas and Luka Doncic to Hollywood.
2 players out, 3 players in.
Roster sure is looking a bit different right?
Not quite.
Mo Bamba would be waived the next day and PJ Tucker would be used in the trade that helped Jimmy Butler get to Golden State as Utah sent the 39 year old forward to Miami (who immediately sent him to Toronto) in order to receive Dennis Schroeder from Golden State and a 2nd round pick from Miami.
Cant forget that 2nd round pick.
So neither Bamba or Tucker would don the Utah purple, but now with Schroeder on the roster next to Jalen Hood-Schifino, the Jazz still had two new players to replace the two roster spots left right?
Well, Schroeder would go the route of PJ Tucker and be rerouted the following day where Utah would send him to Detroit for Josh Richardson, KJ Martin and a…… 2nd round pick.
Like Mo Bamba before him, Josh Richardson was waived by Utah soon after alongside…. Jalen Hood Schifino.
So lets break it down.
Utah sent out two players: Patty Mills and Drew Eubanks.
Utah received at one point or another a total of 6 players from this deal: PJ Tucker, Mo Bamba, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Dennis Schroeder, Josh Richardson and KJ Martin.
Sure the two absent roster spots that once held Drew Eubanks and Patty Mills remained, but the players Utah got in these deal’s did not.
Utah kept one of those players in KJ Martin when it was all said and done.
Obviously Utah wasn’t in the business of roster turnover this year, as they doubled down on stockpiling assets.
Yet to have 8 players involved in transactions, that eventually only amounted to one new player on the roster is very much worth noting.
Especially in such a short amount of time.
This illustrates just how hard Danny Ainge, Justin Zanik and the Jazz front office were working to achieve their goal.
Agree or disagree with such a goal, Utah put in the overtime to make it happen.
For example, at the time of acquiring Josh Richardson and KJ Martin while still having Jalen Hood-Schifino rostered, the Jazz only needed to wave one of the three.
They waived two instead (Richardson and Hood-Schifino), deciding to keep a roster spot open for future flexibility or as a promotional spot for a current two-way player.
Thus, it was never about the players returned, but the 2nd round picks that came attached along the way.
As far as the one new face incoming, KJ Martin, is on year one of a two year deal he inked back in Philadelphia this last offseason.
The 2nd year of the deal is fully non-guaranteed meaning his length of stay in Salt Lake City will be dependent upon his impact and fit.
Martin hasn’t played since the tail end of December of this season but was nearing a return before being shuttled away.
Averaging 6.4 points a night on near 62 percent shooting with 24 games played this year, Martin is an athletic, versatile forward who can stretch the floor on his best nights (38 percent on the season on about 1 attempt a game).
In his 5th year now on his 4th team, Martin has career totals of 8.7 points in 21.5 minutes through 290 games played.
A career shooting average of 55 percent and 34 percent from deep add some intrigue alongside the 4.1 total boards a night.
Martin was taken 52nd overall in the 2020 NBA draft.
As far as the veterans and often discussed trade pieces for the Jazz go, Utah fans now can wait to speculate until the NBA lottery comes and goes around the middle of May when Utah finds out their draft selection.
If that seems forever away, don’t worry, it’ll come faster than any of the 2nd round draft picks just acquired.
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