Actually Eric Bledsoe is the one that Phoenix is reportedly looking to trade. And big men like Kanter are hard to come by. Phoenix becomes that much more deadly with a interior scorer, who likes the paint. The fact that Enes is developing a 3 point shot is just gravy to Horny's offense.
Jazz should trade Kanter, Burke, Steve Novak & Jeremy Evans (for salary purposes) and our 2017 - 1st round pick (they won't take GSW's right now it's value is zero) for Bledsoe, TJ Warren, and Miles Plumlee.
It certainly works salary cap wise:
https://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=o37onf6
Bledsoe is unhappy in Phoenix and feels he deserves more of an opportunity to shine . He's right, and he'll get it in Utah. He's a ferocious defensive player (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnzK6_pI4JI) and you put him in a lineup with Gobert at his back - and all of a sudden the Jazz take huge leap up the defensive team rankings. Bringing Bledsoe in also should help foster the development of Dante Exum.
Warren gives the Jazz a legit 3, who can score in bunches which is the other thing the Jazz sorely need. We need someone who isn't afraid to shoot the ball. Warren's being brought along slowly (alla Exum) and missed some time because of a pre-season injury. But, it's possible that he would be our leading scorer a few years down the road.
Plumlee, we make sure to include so we have a back up center to help in Kanter's absence. Not that the Gobert-Favors-Booker front court hasn't looked amazing at times, he's just insurance.
Burke makes sense for Phoenix because he's insurance if Goran Dragic gets an answer he can't refuse. He also fits their system very well.
Kanter is the guy they might never be able to get in the draft. Bigs with offensive moves like his don't come cheap. With Kanter almost definitely looking at a max offer from another team this summer, the Jazz are in danger of losing him for nothing. This way they get to use the money they might have spent on Kanter to lock in Bledsoe for 4 more years (the length of his contract), accelerate their rebuild, and playing a more veteran PG will also help with the development of our young roster as a whole.
The Jazz after the trade:
C- Gobert, Plumlee
PF- Favors, Booker
SF- Warren, Ingles, Hood
SG- Hayward, Burks, Millsap
PG- Bledsoe, Exum, Clark
The 2015-2016 Jazz:
C- Gobert, Plumlee,
PF- Favors, Booker, K. Porzingis (draftee)
SF- TJ Warren, Hood, Ingles
SG- G. Hayward, A. Burks
PG- Bledsoe, Exum, R. Neto
Of course trades like this almost never happen when: A) They are teams in the same conference, and B) It makes sense for both teams. The one thing I do know is that while in the past KOC has always played it very conservatively (except the DWill trade - which blew everyone away and was his best moment), Dennis Lindsey has made a trade every year. He's not trigger shy, if he thinks it's in the Jazz best interest - it'll happen. The deadline should be fun.