Utah Jazz Viewed as Huge Winners in Clippers, Heat Trade

Bleacher Report analyst Andy Bailey reviewed Monday's trade and dubbed the Jazz as one of three winners walking away from the deal.

"The Jazz are clearly in the middle of a full-scale teardown," Bailey wrote. "The start came three years ago, when they traded Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. They slowly funneled most of their other veterans around the league for a couple of seasons after that. And this summer, they've now waived Jordan Clarkson, salary-dumped Collin Sexton and traded Collins. If Jusuf Nurkić (who came over in the Sexton deal) and Lauri Markkanen are both still in Utah uniforms in March, it would be at least a mild surprise."

"So, with the league being well aware of what Utah is doing, getting an asset for Collins (the second-rounder) moves the needle a bit. And that's especially true when you consider that Collins was a salary dump when the Jazz picked him up. But the potential for this trade doesn't end there. Utah isn't likely to get anything for Love, given his age and recent performance (although he did manage an above-average box plus/minus in his limited 2024-25 minutes), but don't close the door on another Anderson deal."

"The multipositional playmaker turns 32 in September, but he's 6'9", has the kind of game that should age well and is one of the best, headiest defenders in the league. At some point in this coming season, a contending team could very well talk itself into Anderson being the kind of depth piece that could put it over the top in a title pursuit and surrender a real asset to the Jazz to get him."

Clearly, the offseason moves made by Utah resemble a complete rest in Bailey's eyes. Still, the decisions feel necessary. All three of Clarkson, Sexton, and Collins are getting older and had to be moved in order to make room for young faces such as Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr.

Of course, trading Collins for two older players doesn't exactly fit that reasoning. The issue is that Collins needs touches on offense while Love and Anderson don't require the same, especially while heading into the final stretch of their careers.

Clarkson and Collins combined for 26.6 field goal attempts per game last season, freeing up plenty of offense for young faces in Utah. If the rookies can capitalize alongside Markkanen and Walker Kessler, the organization should be moving in the right direction.

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