UTAH JAZZ NOW!

Considering the Utah Jazz Donovan Mitchell’s age and contract, compared to the Gobert deal, this negotiation is relatively less “blooded”, but the Jazz and Ainge have already gained enough.

However, after the “rumored” Knicks package was revealed, columnist Pelton is more certain that the Jazz’s current policy is to get “draft rights” as much as possible rather than young players.

Even so, the Utah Jazz has got some interesting players, like Collin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen who have at least three years left on their contracts, which are good for the team. Don’t be too surprised if they get traded again in the near future — just look at Patrick Beverley.

Utah Jazz young drafts

Since the Utah Jazz has made the playoffs year after year, the newly acquired Ochai Agbaji is the team’s “highest” first-round pick since Gordon Hayward.

In addition to Agbaji, the 7-footer and Walker Kessler is also a rookie worth looking forward to. He was selected by the Timberwolves with the 22nd overall pick this year and became part of the Gobert trade not long ago. The Utah Jazz doesn’t need two immediate contributions (and don’t want to), but spread out the current lineup to take a look:

There are Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, Malik Beasley in the backcourt, Bojan Bogdanovic, Rudy Gay and Jarred Vanderbilt in the frontcourt, plus the newcomers Sexton, Markkanen, THT, etc. If they don’t continue to trade, it seems that there is a bit of a head start?

With the 2019-20 “Thunder Five” as an example, Chris Paul, Dennis Schroder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and Steven Adams “accidentally” teamed up to take the team to the playoffs, if Ainge really wants to ” Tank”, I’m afraid we should pay more attention.

If the Jazz really did anything “good,” it was probably helping the Cavaliers deal with Collin Sexton’s contract issues and getting Sexton a decent salary.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Sexton’s four-year “sign-and-trade” deal, worth $72 million, is more than Cleveland was willing to offer.

Sexton is ready to roll

Sexton is not a bad player, but he can’t meet the Cavaliers’ current backcourt needs. Defense and size are easy to be beaten, and it is difficult to start with Garland. In terms of “offensive” alone, Sexton’s skills will not be worth the price, and when the contract expires, he is only 27 years old. As long as he gets the right positioning, we can still see him shine.

By the way, Jordan Clarkson, who was once selected as the “Best Sixth Man”, was also traded from the Cavaliers to the Jazz, and gradually played his own name, which is also a coincidence in a certain way.

Markkanen & Vanderbilt are ready

Lauri Markkanen is even more “cheaper”. The 24-year-old signed a four-year long-term contract last year with a total value of 67M. After the baptism of the Cavaliers’ “Three Towers” experiment, I believe he will cherish the time to play back as a power forward more.

Assuming that there are no more trades for the time being, the Jazz’s centers include Walker Kessler and Udoka Azubuike. Although they have good heights, they are all a little immature. As such, we can expect Markkanen, who is seven feet tall, to “guest” center more early in the season, as he did in his early years with the Bulls.

Jarred Vanderbilt, who is full of activity and can’t get enough rebounds, is not too unfamiliar with Markkanen. After all, Markkanen’s style of play has many similarities with Karl-Anthony Towns. He can use the perimeter to open up the offensive space. It is a “high gun turret” in line with the modern style of play. If there are deficiencies in defense and rebounding, Vanderbilt will be happy to help.

We’re not sure how many wins a Jazz like this will win, but as long as Sexton, Markkanen, Vanderbilt (and the Lakers’ Talen Horton-Tucker) stay healthy, some great shots are needed.