The Utah Jazz have already made three trades in the last two weeks.
To recap:
• On Jan. 21, the team traded three first-round picks, the least valuable of their assortment of picks in 2025, 2027, and 2029, to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for their 2031 unprotected pick. The idea: an upside shot in the future at the cost of lower-quality picks sooner.
• On the morning of Feb. 1, the Jazz traded veterans Drew Eubanks and Patty Mills to the L.A. Clippers, receiving a second-round pick in 2030, P.J. Tucker and Mo Bamba in return. Bamba has already been waived, and Tucker hasn’t played in the 2024-25 season and looks unlikely to do so for the Jazz.
• Then, well after the Jazz’s game on Saturday, the team took part as a minor player in perhaps the most shocking trade in NBA history. Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis swapped teams from the Lakers and Clippers, stunningly. In the deal, the Jazz received Jalen Hood-Schifino and two second round picks, the Mavericks and Clippers' in 2025. The Jazz sent out just $55K to each team in the deal.
And yet, more trades look likely to be on the way.
The franchise, focused on losing as many games as reasonably possible this season, has more veterans who would be obvious pieces to sell to interested teams on the W side of the ledger. They also have other contract-based trades, which could be used to juice the team’s asset pool further.
The deadline is Thursday at 1 p.m. MT.
Here’s what to watch for.
Trading Collins?
The loudest rumors surround forward John Collins, who is in the midst of an excellent season. Shooting a career-high 46% from 3-point range and passing at a higher level than ever before, Collins could be an excellent fit for shooting-hungry teams.
The Sacramento Kings have reportedly held the greatest interest — to the point where, according to Kings beat writer James Ham, they even told their players they had a deal done for the forward. When asked about the possibility, Collins said he hadn’t heard of the proposed deal.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward John Collins (20) tries to get the fans hyped as the Utah Jazz host the Orlando Magic during NBA basketball at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, February. 1, 2025.
“I saw some rumors, but I definitely didn’t hear that,” he said. “Whatever Sacramento is doing, that’s, you know, their prerogative, if it involves me or not. Obviously, I would have found out. But I’m kind of happy I just didn’t have that news — sorry, nothing against Sacramento — just kind of happy I didn’t have that news hit my phone. I’ve just got to continue to be the best professional I can be and continue playing basketball.”
But a trade made Sunday night would seem to scuttle that idea, at least as it stood last week. The proposed trade likely would have sent guard Kevin Huerter to the Jazz. His $17 million salary allowed the Kings to match Collins' $26 million incoming. But the Kings are trading De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs and sending Huerter to the Bulls in exchange for Zach LaVine. Now, Sacramento has no obvious matching salary contracts for Collins.
Collins was also reportedly shopped to New Orleans in a potential swap for Brandon Ingram, but that deal was scuttled when Ingram declined to extend with the Jazz.
The Warriors also apparently called about Collins.
Other veterans
The Jazz would also be willing to trade other veterans, including Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson, and Svi Mykhailiuk. That being said, there are fewer obvious matches for those players and contracts than Collins.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward John Collins (20) and Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) as the Utah Jazz host the Orlando Magic during NBA basketball at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, February. 1, 2025.
Sexton, like Collins, is having his best 3-point shooting season as a pro, at 41%. The combination of shooting and foul-drawing makes him a relatively efficient guard scorer, and the Jazz are a whopping 10.7 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court than off of it. The question is simply one of fit: who might need Sexton’s skillset while being able to match his $18 million contract?
Forbes' Evan Sidery reported that the Jazz are “receiving strong trade interest on Collin Sexton from contending teams,” saying that the Jazz prefer to receive “an intriguing prospect and draft capital” in a deal. That last part is relatively obvious.
If it feels as if Clarkson has been on the trade block for the last three seasons or so, you’re right — but the Jazz have been unable to find an interested buyer so far. The issue is simply Clarkson’s efficiency compared to his contract. While his contract is reasonable given his career so far, the last couple of years simply haven’t seen him score at an above-average rate.
Mykhailiuk has had a strange season for the Jazz, sometimes starting and playing a major role, sometimes seeing DNP-CDs, depending on the rest of the Jazz’s injury report. The advanced stats indicate he’s balanced out to replacement level, which means his $3.5 million salary for this year is unlikely to be coveted. He could make sense as salary ballast in a deal, though, as Eubanks and Mills were.
Other items to watch for
When the Jazz waived Bamba instead of Tucker on Sunday morning, it indicated that the Jazz still have hope to use Tucker’s $11.5 million salary in a deal before Thursday.
The ability to do so would be pretty limited, however. Because Tucker was recently acquired, his salary couldn’t be aggregated in a trade — in other words, he’d have to be the only player the Jazz send out in a deal. On his own, the Jazz could acquire $16.5 million in returning salaries when sending Tucker out. There aren’t really any obvious salaries in that window that would, say, push another team under the luxury tax, so a deal would require some creativity.
Last season, the Jazz shocked some fans by trading second-year pro Ochai Agbaji to the Toronto Raptors, along with Kelly Olynyk, for a late first-round pick — which turned out to be Isaiah Collier. Could the Jazz move on from one of their second-year players again for another roll of the dice? It’s not crazy to consider, though Agbaji has responded to his trade with a nice season in Toronto.
The Jazz now have four draft picks in the 2025 draft as it stands: their own, the most favorable of the Timberwolves and Cavs' selections in the first round, the Mavericks' second-rounder, and the Clippers' second-rounder. Will they want to go into draft day with all four selections? It wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see them consolidate their picks further.
