JazzAvenues
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Why does everyone keep saying the Lakers fleeced Jazz?
Conley, Vanderbilt and Beasley all have 1 year left on their contract and only Vanderbilt could be considered a positive asset out of them. D'Lo is an expiring, the same as Russ. They both have almost no value. TWolves don't want to pay D'Lo so they get rid of him for Conley. The only other positive asset in this trade is the FRP Lakers are sending Utah which seems fair all things considered. I'm curious, who is gonna give Utah a FRP or more for their players?
Honestly, I think it makes the most sense for them of all the teams.
Get a pick, get more room next year, tank some games this year, winwinwin
This deal accomplishes three things for Utah:
increases their odds of successfully tanking for Wemby
Lands a potential premium draft asset
Frees up a ton of cap space with Westbrook's expiring
Ainge always takes a very long-term view, and this deal makes a lot sense in that context
Danny Ainge has a 1st round pick addiction.
Beasley is a terrible defender and a black hole on offense, while also having bad scoring efficiency. His poor shot selection and lack of awareness on offense make him a below average offensive player despite his shooting. Combine that with his defense and the most surprising thing about him as how many minutes he keeps getting.
Vanderbilt is a lot better at looking like he's trying really hard than he is at basketball. His defense isn't nearly good enough to make up for his lack of any notable skills on offense.
I literally called this four days ago on this sub and got downvoted. People understimated Westbrook's value as a huge expiring and the Jazz's desire to tank. Satisfying.
That first is, almost inarguably, the single most valuable part of the trade
Vando / Beas / Conley for a first is a bad enough deal. That first being protected and our having to give up NAW and 3 seconds makes this ridiculously bad for us.
Conley is old, with a recent injury history and an inefficient 10/8 a game; I liked Beasley in Minnesota, but it's clear at this point that the NBA doesn't value him, probably because they want him to just shoot 3s and he's only so-so at that the last couple years; JV is good, probably a late first on his own. Add it all up and you get a 1st with a decent shot of landing in the lottery. Account for the fact that Minnesota has a lot of leverage (sure they don't want Russell to walk for nothing but Conley's probably a side-grade with risk) and you get some low-value seconds thrown in for them. it seems fine
I think the angle is cap space. Moving off 45 mil you can sign someone good in the offseason like Fred VanVleet who is looking for something like 4 years 125.
Minnesota has decided they actually want to be last year's Jazz without Donavan Mitchell. weird move.
Idk what everyone but the Lakers are doing in this trade. I dunno what utah is trying to do and why they're giving up three pretty good players for a first and a guy they'll apparently buy out. like, the player who that first is tied to is like 12 right now.
anything less than a playoff appearance (6th or higher) for the Lakers at this point would be catastrophic
I don’t actually think they lost that match. Dlo was an expiring contract and wasn’t going to resign so they had to trade him to keep his salary slot and mike Conley and a couple seconds is a pretty good return. And Jazz aren’t trying to win now that they’re hot streak is over. They probably could’ve gotten a little bit better value from Beasley and Vando but everyone new they were trying to trade him so their value was decreased a little. Now the jazz have huge amounts of cap space, another pick, and are worse which gives them a better draft pick. Overall I don’t think anyone lost I just think the lakers won the most.
I mean it’s a good trade but does it actually make the Lakers that much better?
Westbrook is a massive expiring. He has value in cap space that Danny can make use of like he did with Horford
I think this lets Ainge take on some other bad contract in the future if he wants. Jazz are clearly in a multi-year rebuild. So freeing up cap space each year could let him absorb a Westbrook and a FRP in deals like this the next few years.
Well Westbrook's huge expiring contract comes into play making it much easier to match salaries. Also, that Lakers pick is likely going to be a lottery pick. Think Ainge was just betting on the Lakers sucking more than any other team in four years. The protection is kinda insane though. Pelinka would be wild not to make that deal over the protections
None of the contracts outside of Vanderbilt are good. Dlo 30 million and Beasley for 15 million. Guessing that’s why they didn’t have a huge market but it’s awesome for the lakers who got out from westbrooks salary
Everything about this season was a win for the jazz. Got rid of 2 of the worst contracts in the nba, got a billion first round picks, competed long enough to build some trade value, found a guy who could be a crucial piece to a potential contender in the future
Let's say you're the Jazz and you have this lightly protected 2027 Lakers pick.
Would you trade that pick for Beasley and Conley?
Should they then trade their Wolves picks for win-now players?
Adrian Wojnarowski
@wojespn
The Jazz have assembled a massive package of assets -- including 15 unprotected or lightly protected first-round picks through 2029 and a young core of Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kesslier, Collin Sexton and Ochai Agbaji and $60M-plus in potential cap space.
Find somebody who loves you as much as Danny Ainge loves draft picks.
Danny Ainge is doing his Boston Building. Finding a young core and a lot of draft capital
when the 2029 draft is just OKC and Utah picking all 60 picks >>>>
For what the Jazz are trying to do this deal is fine:
This trade could take them from having a 2.1% chance at Wemby or Scoot to a 18.2% chance. Spots 6-15 in the lottery standings are incredibly tight right now, and the Jazz are currently at #13 (2.1% chance for a top-2 pick) but only two games out of #6 (18.2% chance for a top-2 pick). With the Magic on fire right now they may even have an outside shot at #5 (21% chance for a top-2 pick).
The Jazz sent out $14.6M in guaranteed salary for next season (Conley and Vanderbilt have partial guarantees and Beasley was on a team option) and only got Jones' $2.5M player option for back for next season.
OKC 2: Mormon Boogaloo
Vander is worth a lot less than people think, there's a reason he only was able to get a 3 year deal for 4 million a year last season. He's an undersized big that can't shoot.
Beasley has more value but he's probably most of what fetched them a 1st and allowed them to unload Conley's contract. Jazz were able to free up 20 million in cap space for next season, plus a first for 3 guys that weren't in high demand.
This also a low key tank trade. They are 100% heading to the lottery now, so this trade will move their own pick quite a few spots. Imagine if you reframed this trade as a future 1st (top 4 protected), 20 million in cap space for next year and trading up 6-7 spots in next years draft. Doesn't sound that bad really.
Conley is about to be 36 and Beasley is an expiring
Vanderbilt clearly can't work with Kessler and was gonna be traded regardless if this season or next year for two 2nds at best.
Getting Russ clears 40 million in salary for next season
You also just improved your draft position and Wemby odds
The trade was very good for the Jazz considering this is deadline day and the other option was to stay put and do nothing
Underrated how much trader Danny was willing to give up for that lakers first. He must really believe they will implode
Lakers got a lot better. Jazz got worse on purpose. And idk what the hell Minnesota is doing.
“The Jazz are now on the clock”
“The Thunder are now on the clock”
“The Jazz are now on the clock”
“The Thunder are now on the clock”
Ainge finna be on the next episode of hoarders
I can’t believe people don’t see the point of what Danny Ainge did with this trade. That team wasn’t going to win this year, and they now have all of these picks as well as Russ’s $47M expiring off their books. They’re going to be able to get whoever they want this summer.
Fans on here massively undervalue picks. The Gobert trade justified their opinions but the market has corrected and a role player is no longer worth a pick.
That and everyone is overrating the players involved.
Half of the value for this deal is the Jazz are essentially “trading up” for a draft pick by tanking which is what Ainge always wanted to do.
I don't think it's a fleece for us. I'm pretty happy with a future 1st for 3 guys that weren't going to be retained.
It's more so the Lakers got a fantastic deal to upgrade their roster by really only trading one asset and in return acquiring three starting calibre players.
However, clearly the Lakers gained the most value after this trade by finally unloading Westbrick and receiving young players in DLO, Vandy and a shooter on Beasley.
The Jazz also made out okay because they were able to unloaded 1.5 years of aging Conley for an expiring contract (buy out) and got a FRP for Vandy and Beasley.
Most are FAs this season, no? So the Lakers traded a first, as the 13th seed, for a bunch of players who won’t be on their team next year? Lol
Jazz are fine. If the Lakers somehow go on some crazy run and win the Championship, they shouldn't care. They have a boatload of draft capital which is the foundation for a team that doesn't attract huge free agents to select and trade for the kind of players they'll need to in order to win a championship some day. That 2027 draft pick could be like a top 10 pick, it could also be like a 20-somthing draft pick. Even if it is, they got other picks too. This is just one of many.
Exactly what were they going to do with Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley next season in 2023-24? Win a championship? Trade them away for something better than a 1st round pick in the off-season? Sign them as unrestricted free agents after the conclusion of the season when Vanderbilt is 25 and Beasley is 28?
All you can say is "you'd have liked to have gotten a little bit more" but oh well. It beats nothing.
I wouldn't say the Jazz were fleeced but the Lakers did amazingly.
For Utah the intention is clear: Tank by getting worse and take the 1st as a bonus. The Jazz wouldn't have won big with the players they traded away, but they were good enough to demand high contracts, that Ainge wasn't interested in giving, therefore he took what he could before losing them in free agency.
Utah Jazz: A+
This trade is a slam dunk for Utah. Individually, it isn't clear that Conley, Vanderbilt or Beasley would have netted a first-round pick. But packaged together, they managed to land one of the most valuable first-rounders on the market. In 2027, James will be 42. Davis will be 34. Both of their contracts expire long before then. Go ask Robert Sacre and Tarik Black what these Lakers look like when they don't have a superstar.
Yes, the Lakers are the Lakers. They could easily stumble their way into another one between now and 2027. But it probably won't happen through the draft, as they now only control two of their next five first-round picks. It probably isn't going to happen through free agency either, as superstars simply don't move through free agency all that often anymore. No reigning All-NBA player has changed teams via free agency since 2019, and in the league's current extend now, request trade later environment, that probably isn't changing in the near future. That means it probably has to happen through trade, and the Lakers just gave away one of their best assets.
And even if that pick isn't valuable as we expect it to be... so what? The Timberwolves gave away a group of role players that, at best, were going to be dealt for heavily protected first-rounds or, more likely second-rounders and bad salary. Speaking of salary, the Jazz didn't have to absorb a penny beyond this season to make the trade. As gaudy as Westbrook's $47 million salary looks on paper, it isn't ultimately that harmful because it expires after the season. The Jazz even got rid of the $14 million or so guaranteed to Conley in the process. So essentially, the Jazz gave away three inessential role players during a season in which they probably would've preferred to tank anyway in exchange for a potentially very valuable first-round pick and $14 million in savings. Danny Ainge has done it again.
But the Timberwolves still traded a 26-year-old point guard for a 35-year-old point guard that is not significantly better here and now. If they had an obvious way of flipping Conley's contract into a younger core piece down the line, it might make more sense, but they've already traded all of their draft capital to Utah for Gobert.
The Jazz picked a direction with this move. Utah’s relative success this season was always a nice surprise, but it didn’t help the franchise achieve their long-term goals. The Jazz wanted more draft picks and to improve the ones they already own. They accomplished both with this trade even if it cost them three quality players.
The Jazz should drop down the standings now, improving their own draft pick. At the time of this trade, Utah would enter the lottery at No. 13, and you can expect that to improve a bit from here on out. The Jazz also own the Timberwolves’ first round pick this year, and by trading two good players to the Lakers — a team Minnesota is currently competing for a playoff spot with — there’s a greater chance that the Wolves fall out of the playoff picture and hand over a lottery pick to Utah.
Yes, the Jazz should have made the Lakers unprotect the pick given how badly the Lakers needed to pull this off. Yes, it’s possible Utah could have gotten better total draft compensation elsewhere if they traded to trade Conley, Vanderbilt, and Beasley in separate deals. It certainly concerning for the Wolves that the 2027 pick immediately turns into a second if it doesn’t convey:
The Wolves can also buy out Conley next year, but it’s going to cost them $14 million to do it. This is a decent short-term solution at lead guard, but agreeing to this deal helps out the Lakers — one of their rivals for a Western Conference playoff spot — more than it helps them. There just isn’t much upside in this trade for Minnesota — unless you consider avoiding paying Russell’s next contract as all the upside you need.
Utah was probably hoping to snag more firsts in order to take on Westbrook’s contract as well as give up three players who can contribute. Taking back only one first and a protected one at that is a bit surprising. Westbrook will almost certainly be waived. And while the Jazz would have obviously loved more, adding another pick to their trove of first-rounders is ultimately a net gain.
GRADE: A
So Utah is finally commencing its tank. We knew the Jazz would be sellers at the NBA’s trade deadline, but the only question was who would be on the move. Vanderbilt and Conley are the first dominos to fall.
The Jazz will bring in Westbrook here, but they’ll almost certainly buy him out. Even if they don’t, he won’t be part of their long-term plans. And, in exchange, they’ll get the Lakers’ future picks which could be extremely valuable a few years from now.
The Jazz are trying to build a foundation for the future. They’re off to a pretty good start and they probably aren’t finished.
The main issue with this trade for LA is that they’ve completely mortgaged their future for solutions that probably won’t win them a championship. And that’s something that the team should’ve avoided unless it involved a legitimate star player.
Russell, Vanderbilt, and Beasley are legitimate good, but they’re no stars. The Lakers are in for a world of pain once the LeBron era is over.
Silver lining is: Lauri unleashed w Bojan gone, KO high IQ guy to mentor Kessler, cap space, Jazz tank rest of season and improve draft pick this summer, Mike is playing w Rudy again which is heart warming I guess.
The Jazz want things that will in the future make them good or at least give them a shot. Value on all the players outgoing was best it was going to be. And they weren’t a part of the Jazz future plan.
I think there’s a lot to be said for having guys play with Mike. Walker and Collin learned more from him in the last few months than they would have from anyone else
Conley, Vanderbilt and Beasley all have 1 year left on their contract and only Vanderbilt could be considered a positive asset out of them. D'Lo is an expiring, the same as Russ. They both have almost no value. TWolves don't want to pay D'Lo so they get rid of him for Conley. The only other positive asset in this trade is the FRP Lakers are sending Utah which seems fair all things considered. I'm curious, who is gonna give Utah a FRP or more for their players?
Honestly, I think it makes the most sense for them of all the teams.
Get a pick, get more room next year, tank some games this year, winwinwin
This deal accomplishes three things for Utah:
increases their odds of successfully tanking for Wemby
Lands a potential premium draft asset
Frees up a ton of cap space with Westbrook's expiring
Ainge always takes a very long-term view, and this deal makes a lot sense in that context
Danny Ainge has a 1st round pick addiction.
Beasley is a terrible defender and a black hole on offense, while also having bad scoring efficiency. His poor shot selection and lack of awareness on offense make him a below average offensive player despite his shooting. Combine that with his defense and the most surprising thing about him as how many minutes he keeps getting.
Vanderbilt is a lot better at looking like he's trying really hard than he is at basketball. His defense isn't nearly good enough to make up for his lack of any notable skills on offense.
I literally called this four days ago on this sub and got downvoted. People understimated Westbrook's value as a huge expiring and the Jazz's desire to tank. Satisfying.
That first is, almost inarguably, the single most valuable part of the trade
Vando / Beas / Conley for a first is a bad enough deal. That first being protected and our having to give up NAW and 3 seconds makes this ridiculously bad for us.
Conley is old, with a recent injury history and an inefficient 10/8 a game; I liked Beasley in Minnesota, but it's clear at this point that the NBA doesn't value him, probably because they want him to just shoot 3s and he's only so-so at that the last couple years; JV is good, probably a late first on his own. Add it all up and you get a 1st with a decent shot of landing in the lottery. Account for the fact that Minnesota has a lot of leverage (sure they don't want Russell to walk for nothing but Conley's probably a side-grade with risk) and you get some low-value seconds thrown in for them. it seems fine
I think the angle is cap space. Moving off 45 mil you can sign someone good in the offseason like Fred VanVleet who is looking for something like 4 years 125.
Minnesota has decided they actually want to be last year's Jazz without Donavan Mitchell. weird move.
Idk what everyone but the Lakers are doing in this trade. I dunno what utah is trying to do and why they're giving up three pretty good players for a first and a guy they'll apparently buy out. like, the player who that first is tied to is like 12 right now.
anything less than a playoff appearance (6th or higher) for the Lakers at this point would be catastrophic
I don’t actually think they lost that match. Dlo was an expiring contract and wasn’t going to resign so they had to trade him to keep his salary slot and mike Conley and a couple seconds is a pretty good return. And Jazz aren’t trying to win now that they’re hot streak is over. They probably could’ve gotten a little bit better value from Beasley and Vando but everyone new they were trying to trade him so their value was decreased a little. Now the jazz have huge amounts of cap space, another pick, and are worse which gives them a better draft pick. Overall I don’t think anyone lost I just think the lakers won the most.
I mean it’s a good trade but does it actually make the Lakers that much better?
Westbrook is a massive expiring. He has value in cap space that Danny can make use of like he did with Horford
I think this lets Ainge take on some other bad contract in the future if he wants. Jazz are clearly in a multi-year rebuild. So freeing up cap space each year could let him absorb a Westbrook and a FRP in deals like this the next few years.
Well Westbrook's huge expiring contract comes into play making it much easier to match salaries. Also, that Lakers pick is likely going to be a lottery pick. Think Ainge was just betting on the Lakers sucking more than any other team in four years. The protection is kinda insane though. Pelinka would be wild not to make that deal over the protections
None of the contracts outside of Vanderbilt are good. Dlo 30 million and Beasley for 15 million. Guessing that’s why they didn’t have a huge market but it’s awesome for the lakers who got out from westbrooks salary
Everything about this season was a win for the jazz. Got rid of 2 of the worst contracts in the nba, got a billion first round picks, competed long enough to build some trade value, found a guy who could be a crucial piece to a potential contender in the future
Let's say you're the Jazz and you have this lightly protected 2027 Lakers pick.
Would you trade that pick for Beasley and Conley?
Should they then trade their Wolves picks for win-now players?
Adrian Wojnarowski
@wojespn
The Jazz have assembled a massive package of assets -- including 15 unprotected or lightly protected first-round picks through 2029 and a young core of Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kesslier, Collin Sexton and Ochai Agbaji and $60M-plus in potential cap space.
Find somebody who loves you as much as Danny Ainge loves draft picks.
Danny Ainge is doing his Boston Building. Finding a young core and a lot of draft capital
when the 2029 draft is just OKC and Utah picking all 60 picks >>>>
For what the Jazz are trying to do this deal is fine:
This trade could take them from having a 2.1% chance at Wemby or Scoot to a 18.2% chance. Spots 6-15 in the lottery standings are incredibly tight right now, and the Jazz are currently at #13 (2.1% chance for a top-2 pick) but only two games out of #6 (18.2% chance for a top-2 pick). With the Magic on fire right now they may even have an outside shot at #5 (21% chance for a top-2 pick).
The Jazz sent out $14.6M in guaranteed salary for next season (Conley and Vanderbilt have partial guarantees and Beasley was on a team option) and only got Jones' $2.5M player option for back for next season.
OKC 2: Mormon Boogaloo
Vander is worth a lot less than people think, there's a reason he only was able to get a 3 year deal for 4 million a year last season. He's an undersized big that can't shoot.
Beasley has more value but he's probably most of what fetched them a 1st and allowed them to unload Conley's contract. Jazz were able to free up 20 million in cap space for next season, plus a first for 3 guys that weren't in high demand.
This also a low key tank trade. They are 100% heading to the lottery now, so this trade will move their own pick quite a few spots. Imagine if you reframed this trade as a future 1st (top 4 protected), 20 million in cap space for next year and trading up 6-7 spots in next years draft. Doesn't sound that bad really.
Conley is about to be 36 and Beasley is an expiring
Vanderbilt clearly can't work with Kessler and was gonna be traded regardless if this season or next year for two 2nds at best.
Getting Russ clears 40 million in salary for next season
You also just improved your draft position and Wemby odds
The trade was very good for the Jazz considering this is deadline day and the other option was to stay put and do nothing
Underrated how much trader Danny was willing to give up for that lakers first. He must really believe they will implode
Lakers got a lot better. Jazz got worse on purpose. And idk what the hell Minnesota is doing.
“The Jazz are now on the clock”
“The Thunder are now on the clock”
“The Jazz are now on the clock”
“The Thunder are now on the clock”
Ainge finna be on the next episode of hoarders
I can’t believe people don’t see the point of what Danny Ainge did with this trade. That team wasn’t going to win this year, and they now have all of these picks as well as Russ’s $47M expiring off their books. They’re going to be able to get whoever they want this summer.
Fans on here massively undervalue picks. The Gobert trade justified their opinions but the market has corrected and a role player is no longer worth a pick.
That and everyone is overrating the players involved.
Half of the value for this deal is the Jazz are essentially “trading up” for a draft pick by tanking which is what Ainge always wanted to do.
I don't think it's a fleece for us. I'm pretty happy with a future 1st for 3 guys that weren't going to be retained.
It's more so the Lakers got a fantastic deal to upgrade their roster by really only trading one asset and in return acquiring three starting calibre players.
However, clearly the Lakers gained the most value after this trade by finally unloading Westbrick and receiving young players in DLO, Vandy and a shooter on Beasley.
The Jazz also made out okay because they were able to unloaded 1.5 years of aging Conley for an expiring contract (buy out) and got a FRP for Vandy and Beasley.
Most are FAs this season, no? So the Lakers traded a first, as the 13th seed, for a bunch of players who won’t be on their team next year? Lol
Jazz are fine. If the Lakers somehow go on some crazy run and win the Championship, they shouldn't care. They have a boatload of draft capital which is the foundation for a team that doesn't attract huge free agents to select and trade for the kind of players they'll need to in order to win a championship some day. That 2027 draft pick could be like a top 10 pick, it could also be like a 20-somthing draft pick. Even if it is, they got other picks too. This is just one of many.
Exactly what were they going to do with Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley next season in 2023-24? Win a championship? Trade them away for something better than a 1st round pick in the off-season? Sign them as unrestricted free agents after the conclusion of the season when Vanderbilt is 25 and Beasley is 28?
All you can say is "you'd have liked to have gotten a little bit more" but oh well. It beats nothing.
I wouldn't say the Jazz were fleeced but the Lakers did amazingly.
For Utah the intention is clear: Tank by getting worse and take the 1st as a bonus. The Jazz wouldn't have won big with the players they traded away, but they were good enough to demand high contracts, that Ainge wasn't interested in giving, therefore he took what he could before losing them in free agency.
Utah Jazz: A+
This trade is a slam dunk for Utah. Individually, it isn't clear that Conley, Vanderbilt or Beasley would have netted a first-round pick. But packaged together, they managed to land one of the most valuable first-rounders on the market. In 2027, James will be 42. Davis will be 34. Both of their contracts expire long before then. Go ask Robert Sacre and Tarik Black what these Lakers look like when they don't have a superstar.
Yes, the Lakers are the Lakers. They could easily stumble their way into another one between now and 2027. But it probably won't happen through the draft, as they now only control two of their next five first-round picks. It probably isn't going to happen through free agency either, as superstars simply don't move through free agency all that often anymore. No reigning All-NBA player has changed teams via free agency since 2019, and in the league's current extend now, request trade later environment, that probably isn't changing in the near future. That means it probably has to happen through trade, and the Lakers just gave away one of their best assets.
And even if that pick isn't valuable as we expect it to be... so what? The Timberwolves gave away a group of role players that, at best, were going to be dealt for heavily protected first-rounds or, more likely second-rounders and bad salary. Speaking of salary, the Jazz didn't have to absorb a penny beyond this season to make the trade. As gaudy as Westbrook's $47 million salary looks on paper, it isn't ultimately that harmful because it expires after the season. The Jazz even got rid of the $14 million or so guaranteed to Conley in the process. So essentially, the Jazz gave away three inessential role players during a season in which they probably would've preferred to tank anyway in exchange for a potentially very valuable first-round pick and $14 million in savings. Danny Ainge has done it again.
But the Timberwolves still traded a 26-year-old point guard for a 35-year-old point guard that is not significantly better here and now. If they had an obvious way of flipping Conley's contract into a younger core piece down the line, it might make more sense, but they've already traded all of their draft capital to Utah for Gobert.
The Jazz picked a direction with this move. Utah’s relative success this season was always a nice surprise, but it didn’t help the franchise achieve their long-term goals. The Jazz wanted more draft picks and to improve the ones they already own. They accomplished both with this trade even if it cost them three quality players.
The Jazz should drop down the standings now, improving their own draft pick. At the time of this trade, Utah would enter the lottery at No. 13, and you can expect that to improve a bit from here on out. The Jazz also own the Timberwolves’ first round pick this year, and by trading two good players to the Lakers — a team Minnesota is currently competing for a playoff spot with — there’s a greater chance that the Wolves fall out of the playoff picture and hand over a lottery pick to Utah.
Yes, the Jazz should have made the Lakers unprotect the pick given how badly the Lakers needed to pull this off. Yes, it’s possible Utah could have gotten better total draft compensation elsewhere if they traded to trade Conley, Vanderbilt, and Beasley in separate deals. It certainly concerning for the Wolves that the 2027 pick immediately turns into a second if it doesn’t convey:
The Wolves can also buy out Conley next year, but it’s going to cost them $14 million to do it. This is a decent short-term solution at lead guard, but agreeing to this deal helps out the Lakers — one of their rivals for a Western Conference playoff spot — more than it helps them. There just isn’t much upside in this trade for Minnesota — unless you consider avoiding paying Russell’s next contract as all the upside you need.
Utah was probably hoping to snag more firsts in order to take on Westbrook’s contract as well as give up three players who can contribute. Taking back only one first and a protected one at that is a bit surprising. Westbrook will almost certainly be waived. And while the Jazz would have obviously loved more, adding another pick to their trove of first-rounders is ultimately a net gain.
GRADE: A
So Utah is finally commencing its tank. We knew the Jazz would be sellers at the NBA’s trade deadline, but the only question was who would be on the move. Vanderbilt and Conley are the first dominos to fall.
The Jazz will bring in Westbrook here, but they’ll almost certainly buy him out. Even if they don’t, he won’t be part of their long-term plans. And, in exchange, they’ll get the Lakers’ future picks which could be extremely valuable a few years from now.
The Jazz are trying to build a foundation for the future. They’re off to a pretty good start and they probably aren’t finished.
The main issue with this trade for LA is that they’ve completely mortgaged their future for solutions that probably won’t win them a championship. And that’s something that the team should’ve avoided unless it involved a legitimate star player.
Russell, Vanderbilt, and Beasley are legitimate good, but they’re no stars. The Lakers are in for a world of pain once the LeBron era is over.
Silver lining is: Lauri unleashed w Bojan gone, KO high IQ guy to mentor Kessler, cap space, Jazz tank rest of season and improve draft pick this summer, Mike is playing w Rudy again which is heart warming I guess.
The Jazz want things that will in the future make them good or at least give them a shot. Value on all the players outgoing was best it was going to be. And they weren’t a part of the Jazz future plan.
I think there’s a lot to be said for having guys play with Mike. Walker and Collin learned more from him in the last few months than they would have from anyone else
