Welcome to the Salt Lake Tribune’s trade deadline live blog!
For the next 48 hours and change, we — Tribune Jazz beat writers Andy Larsen and Eric Walden — want to keep you updated on every move or every rumor that matters to the Utah Jazz. That means that we want to cover:
• Rumors or completed trades involving the Jazz directly
• Rumors or completed trades involving players that the Jazz might be interested in
• Rumors or completed trades that involve the Jazz’s Western Conference or NBA competition that significantly alter the competitive landscape.
We’ll analyze the impact of each bit of news from every angle. We’ll look at the on-court perspective, of course, but also how it affects the almighty dollar — as so many NBA trades are made with an eye to improving a team’s financial situation.
We’ll continue to update this article with new news throughout the next couple of days before Thursday’s 1 p.m. MT trade deadline. Let’s get started!
Thursday, 12:45 p.m. MT: Mavs take a big swing by moving Kristaps Porzingis
Dallas began Thursday sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference (one spot behind the Jazz), at 32-23, but decided to make a franchise-altering move by trading away Kristaps Porzingis.
Though the Latvian joined Dallas to much fanfare in a January, 2019 trade, and signed a five-year max deal with the team months later, he never quite provided Mark Cuban with the elite running mate to Luka Doncic that Dallas’ brass envisioned.
And so, the Mavs sent the oft-injured big man, plus a second-round pick, to Washington in exchange for guard Spencer Dinwiddie and forward Davis Bertans.
Porzingis was averaging 19.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks. He was shooting only 28.3% from deep. Meanwhile, the Wizards move on from a pair of high-profile, big-money signings that also didn’t work. Dinwiddie is averaging 12.6 points and 5.8 assists, while shooting only 37.6% from the field and 31.0% from 3. Bertans, who has almost $50 million worth of salary remaining for the next three seasons, is averaging 5.7 points, and, despite his reputation as a sharpshooter, hitting only 31.9% from 3 (and 35.1% overall).
The Mavs are clearly hoping that pairing them with Doncic get revitalize their production. Still, it feels like a letdown of a return, even if Dallas moved off a massive contract and got rid of a guy their superstar didn’t seem to get along with.
— Eric Walden
Thursday, 11:45 p.m. MT: Josh Richardson gets traded … to San Antonio
Utah had rumored interest in Celtics guard Josh Richardson, and for good reason — he’s known as a strong perimeter defender and who is shooting 39.7% from 3-point range this season.
Boston did decide to move him, but he’s going to the Spurs instead.
San Antonio keeps up its flurry of activity, and adds another future first-round pick, as well. Boston, meanwhile, gets a steady point guard who is familiar with head coach Ime Udoka — a longtime Spurs assistant under Pop.
It’s hard to see Richardson as a long-term fit for the Spurs, given that they seem to be undergoing a fairly substantial rebuild, so it’ll be worth keeping an eye out for the possibility that they could re-route him to another team before the coming deadline.
In the meantime, though, there’s another perceived good candidate to improve Utah’s perimeter defense that Danny Ainge and Justin Zanik couldn’t land.
— Eric Walden
Thursday, 11:30 a.m.: James Harden and Ben Simmons trade completed
Now here’s a big deal.
It’s a completely fascinating trade. Brooklyn had so much offensive firepower but no defense to speak of, so the assumed return of Ben Simmons, one of the best defenders in the league, helps that. But does Simmons wreck the Nets’ spacing? Does Kevin Durant need spacing? And how does Simmons perform in high-pressure playoff situations?
Meanwhile, the Sixers pair James Harden with Joel Embiid to create one of the best duos the league has right now — LeBron James and Anthony Davis is probably the best comparison in terms of pure star power, but the Sixers are much more well-rounded. But how much of Harden’s decline this season is because of his disinterest in playing in Brooklyn? And how much of it is because, well, 32-year-olds with famously lax off-court regimens tend to decline?
Harden can opt out of his contract this summer, so to me, just on value alone, this feels like a lot to give up for him. Now, working under longtime Rockets GM Daryl Morey, you figure Harden will get a big, max-money contract with the Sixers this summer.
At base, though: given how Harden was playing for the Nets, and given that Simmons wasn’t playing at all for the Sixers, it should be a short-term upgrade for both teams.
— Andy Larsen
Thursday, 10:30 a.m.: Minor moves made around the league, which may impact Utah
Let’s just spend a moment to recap some minor trades that have been made so far.
This one doesn’t have a huge impact on the Jazz, other than the Clippers’ continuing their trend of stockpile wings from all around the league. That, of course, is a strategy that has been very effective for them against the Jazz.
John Hollinger had a smart note about Boston’s minor deal:
That probably makes, say, a Josh Richardson to Utah deal more unlikely. A Dozier/Bol deal is one you might see a team agree to after its bigger moves are out of the picture.
Meanwhile, Keith Smith detailed how the Magic can acquire the salary of two players while waiving only one:
Finally, James Harden seems to have a current stance of “please trade me but pretend I never asked to trade me.” It looks likely to be an Eastern Conference trade, but if it is indeed a Ben Simmons-for-James Harden swap, that would take teams like Minnesota out of the running for Philly’s big guard, who has yet to play in the NBA this season.
— Andy Larsen
Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. MT: Analyzing the Jazz/Blazers/Spurs trade
First, note that our full story on the Jazz’s completed trade is online here. In case you missed it, here’s the deal.
This is a weird move that I — Andy — didn’t really expect. It essentially goes partway to accomplishing two goals: getting the Jazz a useful player in exchange for Joe Ingles’ contract, and saving Jazz owner Ryan Smith oodles of money.
First, Nickeil Alexander-Walker was one of my favorite prospects in the 2019 NBA Draft. I loved that he competed on both ends, that he could dribble, pass, and shoot, that he was a solid defender at Virginia Tech. He didn’t do anything extremely well, but just was a solid jack-of-all-trades prospect that you could imagine fitting in a wide variety of roles.
In the NBA, with the Pelicans, he’s been an unabashed chucker. A 45% eFG this season ranks dead last in the NBA among players who qualify by the NBA’s minutes criteria. On defense, there are times when he is able to navigate screens and use his length, but it’s inconsistent. He is, this season, essentially a significantly worse version of Jordan Clarkson. (That fact that may raise the likelihood of Clarkson himself being traded.)
Can the Jazz make him into a good player? I think there’s a real possibility that some direction and coaching can immediately cut out some of the bad shots, and that a smaller role can make him a more focused defender.
I think there’s buy-low potential here too. In a vacuum, I love trading a 34-year-old expiring contract for a 23-year-old rookie deal. That being said... it doesn’t do a whole lot to address the issues that the Jazz have had when facing the league’s elite — Alexander-Walker would have to make nearly unprecedented immediate strides to become the impact player on the defensive end that the Jazz need.
In other words, it’s a bet. It’s not a sure thing that this will help the Jazz in the playoffs this season.
Juancho Hernangomez, I suspect, will just be a bit of salary ballast. He had a somewhat promising start to his career in Denver, but it’s fizzled out now. I suppose that maybe the Jazz could play the 6-9 shooting power forward at backup center? But I don’t think he offers much that Eric Paschall doesn’t at the position.
But, when combined, Hernangomez and Alexander-Walker’s salaries are less than Ingles and Hughes, which saves the Jazz $11 million in luxury tax. The Jazz have shown a willingness to trade second-round picks for money (see the Miye Oni deal), and that’s essentially what the Spurs’ portion of this deal is: they pay the upcharge from Hernangomez’ $6 million deal to Satoransky’s $10 million deal, and get a Jazz second-round pick for the opportunity.
Meanwhile, Alexander-Walker is paid just $5 million next season, which the Jazz could even move if they wanted to get under the tax next year. They’ll have the option this offseason if they want to be a taxpaying team or not — acquiring someone like Josh Richardson and his $12 million salary next year may have made that more difficult.
— Andy Larsen
Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. MT: Jazz and Rockets reportedly discuss Eric Gordon deal
Another name that’s tangentially been tied to the Jazz in trade rumors? Eric Gordon.
Now, there’s a report, though, that Utah’s interest is a bit more substantive.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported that the Jazz and Rockets have had discussions about bringing the 6-foot-3, 215-pound guard to Utah, in a deal centered around Joe Ingles’ expiring contract and a future first-round pick:
Gordon could help replace the 3-point shooting the Jazz lost with Ingles, as he’s hitting 42.7% from deep on 5.2 attempts per game this year. He’s also averaging 14.2 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game.
Gordon would be a pricey commitment, though, as he’s making $18.2 million this year, plus just shy of $19.6 million in 2022-23. He’s also under contract for $20.9 million for ’23-24, but that season is non-guaranteed (it would become guaranteed, though, for an All-Star team appearance or 500 minutes [regular season]/750 [regular season/playoffs] PLUS winning a championship).
Gordon is known as a solid perimeter defender. He also famously had a career-high 50-point game against the Jazz back on Jan. 27, 2020.
— Eric Walden
Wednesday, 9 a.m. MT: Kings reportedly want win-now pieces for Barnes
Andy wrote a key paragraph yesterday in his analysis of the Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis deal:
“Meanwhile, there had been persistent Harrison Barnes to the Jazz rumors. They never made much sense to me, as Barnes isn’t really a defensively-oriented player known for playing hard — the things the Jazz need to add. But again, the Jazz can’t trade anything for Barnes that makes sense for the Kings in the short term.”
It would appear the Kings have come to the same conclusion, per a report from Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix:
If the Kings are really that intent on chasing a play-in spot, then the Jazz offering Joe Ingles’ expiring deal plus a future draft pick(s) simply isn’t going to meet Sacramento’s criteria.
So if the Jazz are really determined on getting Barnes (and, like Andy, I don’t believe they are), it would take a package built around Bojan Bogdanovic, or Jordan Clarkson, or Royce O’Neale, or something like that.
Given Barnes’ limitations, such a deal might not make sense for the Jazz, either.
— Eric Walden
Tuesday, 12 p.m. MT: Sabonis to Sacramento, Haliburton/Hield to Indiana, a Jazz trade target off the market?
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Pacers are trading Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday, and a 2027 second-round pick to Sacramento for Tyrese Hailburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson.
Here’s the good news for the Kings: they get the best player in the deal! Sabonis really does rule — he’s kind of a lesser version of Nikola Jokic, just so talented at so many different offensive skills. From shooting, passing, post-up moves, he’s got it all. An incredible rebounder, he gets 12 per game. He’s a lower-tier All-Star at 25 years old. Very good contract, which pays him about $20 million per for two seasons after this one.
Here’s the bad news for the Kings: it doesn’t matter. Do you think Sabonis is going to stay after that deal is done? He’d be the first unrestricted free agent All-Star to sign in Sacramento in approximately two decades. Holiday has one year after this one. Lamb, on the very fringes of NBA playability due to bottom-tier offensive efficiency, expires this season.
And let me ask you this: does a Sabonis/De’Aaron Fox/Davion Mitchell/Harrison Barnes/Lamb/Holiday/Marvin Bagley/Richaun Holmes core contend for anything? It does not. It doesn’t contend for a title, and I’m not sure it contends for the playoffs. That roster is, flat out, not better than the pre-trade version of the Indiana Pacers, who have an inspiring 19-36 record.
Meanwhile, they give up the excellent Tyrese Haliburton, who is under a cheap contract for two more years, and team control for four years after that due to restricted free agency. They give up dangerous 3-point shooter Buddy Hield, who just months ago, could have been used to acquire Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Heck, even expiring 30-year-old Tristan Thompson isn’t really an important salary dump; he could help a team. I get that the Kings were also bad (a 20-35 record) — but this? This is what they can do?
Well, the Kings are getting a Pacers 2027 second-round pick in the deal. Maybe that’s the pick, a current 13 to 16-year-old, that will bring the Kings to the playoffs.
For Indiana, it’s choosing a direction, and getting a talented long-term piece back. As noted, they’re not good, so they get a quality two-way player in Haliburton who will likely be a starter on the next good Pacers team. They can flip Hield now or later, and can perhaps maybe even move Thompson again in the next 24 hours. The downside is losing Sabonis, who I think was more likely to stay in Indiana than he will be in Sacramento — but the Pacers’ front office may know more than we do on that.
For the Jazz, it’s one, maybe two, potential targets off the board. Holiday would have fit as a talented but aging 3-and-D player on a small contract, but this trade signals that the Kings’ goals are short-term, rather than long-term — as flawed in execution as they may be. The Jazz can’t trade the Kings anything that’s better than Holiday now.
Meanwhile, there had been persistent Harrison Barnes to the Jazz rumors. They never made much sense to me, as Barnes isn’t really a defensively-oriented player known for playing hard — the things the Jazz need to add. But again, the Jazz can’t trade anything for Barnes that makes sense for the Kings in the short term.
— Andy Larsen
Tuesday, 10 a.m. MT: C.J. McCollum to New Orleans
It appears two of the league’s eight teams with three words in the full team name — the Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Pelicans — have completed a deal.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Blazers are receiving Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Walker-Alexander, Didi Louzada, a 2022 protected first-round pick, and two second-round picks in exchange for CJ McCollum, Larry Nance, and Tony Snell.
From a Portland perspective:
This deal, along with last week’s deal shedding Robert Covington and Norman Powell for scrap and picks, essentially makes it clear that this iteration of the Blazers is done as a competitive force.
OK, sure, if you want to squint and look at it in one way, you could say that this could set up a “re-tooling” rather than a “rebuild.” After this deal, the Blazers will be $53 million under next year’s salary cap, couldn’t they use that on free agents? Bradley Beal or Zach LaVine could be available!
But in order for that to work, Beal or LaVine have to sign on, which doesn’t look particularly likely. Frankly, is a Lillard/Beal or Lillard/LaVine core that much more competitive than a Lillard/McCollum one? The role players around either are pretty limited: the newly-acquired Hart and remaining youngster Anfernee Simons are nice players, but that’s about it. It’s not up to contention level.
This trade is really about saving Blazers owner Jody Allen money — McCollum’s $100 million is a lot of money for a good offensive but bad defensive player — and initiating the Portland rebuild. The writing on was on the wall: the Blazers had no real chance at competing moving forward given an aging core, a lack of depth, and zero flexibility to improve.
Obviously, the next question is about Portland point guard Damian Lillard. He’s said he wants to remain a Blazer. This trade will test that resolve.
He’s owed a whopping $176 million dollars across this season and the next three after that, and is said to want an additional $107 million for a two-year extension. Lillard is 31 and had a disappointing start to the year, shooting just 40% from the field and 32% from 3-point range in his traditional allotment of tough shots that he is, or was, uniquely capable of making. He underwent abdominal surgery in December.
But there’s obviously still some hope there that he can revert to DAMIAN LILLARD form after surgery, the all-caps worthy of an All-NBA, top-10 player. I don’t think the Blazers franchise would trade him without his permission, but if he does give the go-ahead, there would be interested suitors.
Would the Jazz be one of them? After all, Lillard once tweeted this:
I think there’s an argument to Utah trying to get him, in a deal you could probably structure around Mike Conley’s 3-year, $58 million guaranteed contract, multiple future first-round picks or pick swaps, and an additional $10-$20 million in outgoing appealing assets (pick from Royce O’Neale, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jared Butler, and so on.)
But I don’t think that’s the best that the Blazers could do: you’d have to imagine some team would be willing to give up an established young starter with All-Star potential for the All-NBA Lillard. The Jazz don’t have that key asset that would make the Blazers want to do that deal; they’d be hoping that a Conley quarter and a few nickels and dimes would allow them to trade for a Dame dollar. The Jazz’s only hope is if Lillard expressly chose Utah as his preferred destination, and goodwill pushed the Blazers to meet his wishes.
From a New Orleans perspective:
This deal makes sense: upgrade on the court. C.J. McCollum still is a good shooter from everywhere on the court, as well as a decent enough playmaker, which is theoretically exactly what they need to put around Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas, and Brandon Ingram.
I do have some gripes with the deal from the Pelicans’ perspective. First, it seems relatively unlikely that we see all of their pieces on the court, healthy, at the same time, for a long time. McCollum has battled injuries, playing 47 games last year and only 36 so far this year. Ingram has played 59, 52, 62, 61, and now 39 of a possible 53 games this season over the past five campaigns — you can’t count on his reliable health. And Williamson, well, he’s yet to play this season and has no timetable for return after experiencing a setback in his foot.
Second, I just don’t think that this is the best they can do. Having an All-NBA caliber player (when healthy) in Williamson on a rookie contract is a phenomenal blessing: it allows you to use the vast majority of the salary cap on other quality players. The Pelicans have used that bounty on Ingram, McCollum, Valanciunas, and Graham: four offense-only guys who have topped out at good but not great efficiency numbers. They will be tough to guard, no doubt, but they will be easy to score against. Herb Jones, the young rookie defender, can’t make a stop on every possession.
They’re not done making moves yet, and you see the vision, but it’s still going to take significant sculpting for this Pelicans team to become a true contender, or a worry in the NBA standings to the Jazz.
— Andy Larsen
