The Utah Jazz are in the midst of the worst start in decades. It’s an even worse start than the former tanking seasons. Before the season started, the Jazz said they would have a competitive season. And even though the Jazz are close in a lot of these games, they are 1-12 and on an 11-game losing streak. With the Walker Kessler trade behind them, the Jazz are left with a lopsided team in desperate need of starting center play that could support their three young stars: Darryn Peterson, Ace Bailey,
and Keyonte George.
That group this season has been elite, hiding behind subpar play from their center and bench. From CraftedNBA.com, here are the Jazz’s best players sorted by net rating and showing their best On-Off players.
Utah’s trio of Bailey, Peterson, and George is playing winning basketball, and it’s an incredible sign for Utah. But outside of those three, it’s not looking good. Losing Jaren Jackson Jr. at the beginning of the season has been brutal because his two-way play would have been a huge part of helping Utah get some wins.
Probably the biggest disappointment, though, is Lauri Markkanen’s play this season. His off-ball offensive game is high-level as usual, the problem is everything else. He’s not producing on the ball, and he has not been a good defender. That’s why Utah should consider a potential move for Domantas Sabonis, who wants out of Sacramento. The trade is an easy, player-for-player trade with Lauri Markkanen.
Lauri Markkanen for Domantas Sabonis
I’ve thought about this a lot this season, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. Yes, Sabonis has some flaws just like Markkanen does. He’s undersized at his position and not a good rim protector. He also struggles in space and on the perimeter defensively, just like Markkanen.
But Sabonis’ pros would be huge for this Jazz team and their young COR3, and could provide a skill set that would take them to another level. Yes, Markkanen provides catch-and-shoot threes and cuts to the basket. Utah is getting enough shooting, scoring, and cutting from that young trio. What Utah lacks right now is a starting center. Sabonis would bring what they’ve been dying for all season, including elite rebounding, screening, passing, and inside scoring. Adding Sabonis would solidify the position in a way that they haven’t had all season. Yes, the Jazz can simply wait for Jusuf Nurkic to come back, but with Nurkic’s size and his foot injury, it’s not a given that he’ll stay healthy this season. Also, having Nurkic come back and play 20-25 minutes a night off the bench is best anyway.
Sabonis is also a perfect fit with what Will Hardy does on offense. He can get the ball and run a dribble handoff from the three-point line, then dive, or run simple pick-and-rolls as the screener. With Sabonis setting screens and scoring inside, you can see how Utah’s offense could get to an elite level. It’s also interesting to think about how well Ace Bailey would fit playing off of him. Sabonis is no Jokic, but he’s the next best thing at center, hitting cutters and passing out of the short roll to open shooters. And finally, Sabonis can score inside on a mismatch. If Utah has a mismatch down low, Sabonis can easily take advantage. And when Jaren Jackson Jr. comes back, Sabonis is the perfect fit next to him, with their strengths offsetting each other. Jackson can be the weak-side defender while Sabonis cleans up their rebounding issues.
There’s also an elephant in the room for the Jazz right now that needs to be recognized. Lauri Markkanen has simply not lived up to his superstar-level contract. With a move like this, Utah can get off his contract before it becomes untradable. Sabonis’ contract is for this season and next, so if we’re simply looking at contract relief, it’s another bonus for Utah. If Markkanen is also a consistent injury risk and not an elite on-ball scorer over the next three seasons, his contract becomes an albatross with two years after this season and the final year coming in at $53M. Utah can get off that contract sooner rather than later by making this happen. Sabonis’ contract runs through this season and next, and then Utah can either extend him or look for another option that fits the timeline of Keyonte George, Darryn Peterson, and Ace Bailey.
For Sacramento, Lauri Markkanen is the perfect fit for Darius Acuff Jr. Acuff can be the hub of everything they do, and Markkanen can do what he does best next to him: take catch-and-shoot threes and score off the ball. Markkanen also provides more spacing for Acuff, which can help him take his game to another level.
Honestly, this one makes a ton of sense for both sides. Most likely, no picks trade sides in this, and Utah can then use their picks from the Kessler trade in other ways, or just simply draft a center prospect for the post-Sabonis era.
