What a Pacers rebuild could mean for the Utah Jazz

has been impressive as of late</a>, boasting the league&#8217;s number one Offensive Rating<strong> (116.1)</strong>, and as of today, they find themselves in the top ten for Defensive Rating as well.</p> <p>This success should not come with surprise either, as the Jazzmen have found relevance in the regular season in the past few years as well. They finished 44-28 in the shortened 2020 regular season, and last year boasted the best record in the entire league, 52-20.</p> <p>The regular season has not been where the Jazz have struggled. However, like it or not, Utah&#8217;s struggles have been most apparent in the playoffs. In the bubble, they collapsed in the first round, falling to the Denver Nuggets after leading 3-1 in the series. Even more heartbreaking, however, was the unfortunate loss to the LA Clippers in the second round last year. We all remember the unfortunate game 6 loss in which Terance Mann notables scored a career high 39 points.</p> <p>I bring this up only to explain why some still doubt the Jazz, even after their excellent start to the current NBA season. Until sustained playoff success is displayed, it is hard for some to take the Jazz as a serious threat for a title.</p> <p>Depending on how the Pacers&#8217; looming rebuild shakes out, that could change, for better or worse.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/12/10/pacers-rebuild-utah-jazz/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span>&nbsp;Could Sabonis, Turner, or LeVert get traded to a Western contender? </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div class="mceTemp"> <p><a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/12/10/pacers-rebuild-utah-jazz/3/"https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2017/07/15907833.jpeg">fairly turbulent and unremarkable</a>, could look to move young standout Talen Horton-Tucker if they feel they are a move away from a championship. The Warriors have already proven to be incredibly dangerous, without major contributions from young players like Jonathan Kuminga, or James Wiseman who has yet to take the floor this year.</p> <p>While it is impossible to predict what will happen in the coming weeks, it is difficult to ignore how well a 3-point shooting center like Myles Turner might fit on either of these two rosters. Caris LeVert could add scoring off the bench, or even the starting lineup if he was to end up on the Lakers.</p> <p>Adding Sabonis to a team looking to contend this season would obviously be more complicated. Coming off an All-Star selection last year, Sabonis is a player who thrives when given a larger role. Inserting him into a team that already plays a very particular style such as the Warriors could prove difficult. However, very few times in the history of the NBA have teams suffered from adding too much talent to a roster. Fit is 100% something to be considered if a team attempts to trade for Sabonis, but he is a fairly flexible player, and it is hard to imagine that if added to some of the top tier teams of the West that he would do any damage.</p> <p>The Western Conference contains a number of teams that have a legitimate chance at making a finals run this season, if the Jazz wish to achieve their ultimate goal, they will have to defeat a number of these teams. If one of them end up trading for one of the impactful players the Pacers appear to be shopping, this task could become even more difficult than it looks as of now.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/12/10/pacers-rebuild-utah-jazz/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span>&nbsp;Could Sabonis, Turner, or LeVert get traded to the Utah Jazz? </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_87139" class="wp-caption alignnone"> <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/12/10/pacers-rebuild-utah-jazz/3/"https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2017/07/17144130.jpeg">shake things up and make a large trade</a> this season. So to ease your worries, I think a Pacers-Jazz blockbuster trade is very unlikely. The Jazz don&#8217;t really have the enticing young pieces to trump packages that could be put together by other teams. However, it is still fun to imagine, how could one of these players potentially fit on the already dangerous looking Utah Jazz?</p> <p><strong>Caris LeVert&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>LeVert, while proving to be a viable scoring option in the NBA, probably makes the least amount of sense for the Utah Jazz. With guards like Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley, and Jordan Clarkson already handling a lot of the facilitation duties, it is hard to imagine where LeVert would fit into the Jazz rotation. Even in a bench role, Jordan Clarkson contributes a lot of scoring for the Jazz, so picturing LeVert in a bench role for the Jazz doesn&#8217;t pan out.</p> <p>He is also set to make $17.5 million this season, which means that to acquire him, the Jazz would have to send hefty contracts in return. The only real (semi-realistic) movable large scale contracts the Jazz have are Bojan Bogdanovic $18.7 Million, and maybe Joe Ingles $13 Million. Making a deal involving one of these two in return makes even less sense for Utah, meaning this trade is essentially a non starter.</p> <p><strong>Myles Turner</strong></p> <p>This trade as well seems to be complicated in terms of fit. In one sense, Rudy Gobert already fills the shot blocking center role as good as any center in recent memory. The multi time defensive play of the year is having another incredible year, and the Jazz rightfully should not be looking to change his role. That being said, having Myles Turner come off the bench would be an incredible addition to the Jazz roster, and an immediate upgrade over Hassan Whiteside</p> <p>Now, this as well seems to be pretty farfetched. Turner is certainly accustomed to a larger role in Indiana, and is also on a contract of $18 million, an undoubtedly steep price for a backup big man. He would however provide extremely useful spacing at the 5 position, while not giving up much on the defensive end of the floor. Turner, who leads the league in blocks, would be an incredible addition to an already talented defense, but figuring out how to deploy him in tandem with Rudy Gobert makes this trade very unlikely.</p> <p><strong>Domantas Sabonis&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>Out of the three players rumored to be available in Indiana, Domantas Sabonis would undoubtedly fit best in scheme and potential trade packages. Sabonis, who averages 18 points per game on incredible efficiency, would be an incredible addition to almost every team in the league. I believe he would be a very interesting fit on the Jazz squad, and if used correctly, could unlock an even higher ceiling for the team.</p> <p>Sabonis is an incredible post player, and has often been used very effectively as a pick and roll threat. He could provide scoring relief in the playoffs to take some of the load off of Donovan Mitchell and others, and also add another dimension to the offense if their traditional plays were being well guarded. The 6&#8217;11 forward would also provide defense on the interior against larger wings or big men. The Jazz would surely lose some spacing with Sabonis on the floor, as he is only shooting about 30% from 3 this season. However, with the many other Jazz shooters still on the roster, I believe adding Sabonis would come with far more pros than cons.</p> <p>The trade package needed to acquire the All-Star however might be difficult to produce. Considering they are seemingly entering a rebuild, they will be looking for young talent and draft picks in return for their stars. Sabonis makes a shockingly low $19.8 Million this year, meaning the Jazz would need to send money back to match the contract. I think any potential package would most likely require&nbsp;Bojan Bogdanovic, and a slew of first round draft picks. It would not be surprising either to see the pacers request Jared Butler in return as well.</p> <p>All this to say, the price for Sabonis would likely be hefty. Adding the All-Star forward to the team would not only change the way they play, but potentially require losing important role players. Not all Jazz fans would be on board with a deal of this magnitude, I&#8217;m not sure if I would fully support it myself. However, it is fun to fantasize about adding another star player to an already talented roster.</p> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Wolves players disrespect Jazz star Rudy Gobert" data-url="https://thejnotes.com/2021/12/09/players-disrespect-utah-jazz-star-gobert/" data-call-to-action="Next" > <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/12/10/pacers-rebuild-utah-jazz/3/"https://thejnotes.com/2021/12/09/players-disrespect-utah-jazz-star-gobert/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span>&nbsp;Wolves players disrespect Jazz star Rudy Gobert </a> </div> </div> <p>In conclusion, the Pacers appear to be entering a new chapter in their franchise history. This chapter, unfortunately for Pacer fans, will most likely not be full of success. What that means for the rest of the league, and for the Utah Jazz, is yet to be seen.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">