The Utah Jazz are in prime position to upgrade their roster through different means this summer. Jazz executive Danny Ainge has three first-round picks in a loaded draft class, plenty of cap space for free-agent acquisitions, and a plethora of future draft capital that can be used in a trade.
What’s Ainge’s preferred method to build a franchise? The Ringer's Ryen Russillo joined The Bill Simmons Podcast, and revisited a past conversation he had with Ainge, paraphrasing the executive's remarks.
“All you guys are obsessed with cap space, but I like to trade," Russillo recalled Ainge telling him. "I like to know what I’m getting. I don't want to wait around all summer and be disappointed when we don't get somebody. So I’m in control of the transaction here. When I’m trading I know exactly what it is.”
This would be consistent with Ainge’s obsession with stockpiling draft picks last summer. Currently, the Jazz are in possession of a whopping first-round picks, which include six that run through 2025. With Salt Lake City being a tough draw in the free-agent market, it makes even more sense that Utah, at some point, will acquire a max-contract caliber player via trade.
Jazz fans may recall the Boston Celtics were built in a similar fashion. Hall-of-Famers Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were acquired via trade in 2007, which contributed to the Celtics winning an NBA championship in 2008. Ainge then parlayed Paul Pierce and Garnett in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets in 2013 that ended up netting lottery picks Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
It’s a recipe that works, and the Jazz have the means to make it happen. But it begs the question: What players will the Jazz be targeting?
There’s no clear answer today, although situations arise every summer that could create a clear path to an exchange — whether it’s a disgruntled player that wants out of Dodge or a team looking to break it down and build it back up, similar to what Utah did with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
Either way, you can bank on the phones being active at Jazz HQ this offseason with “Trader” Danny steering the ship.
Stay tuned.
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