The Utah Jazz have already filled out a 15-man roster, but that doesn’t mean the work is done. With the offseason still rolling and the regular season about three months away, there’s still room for Utah to keep hunting for upgrades that could make the group sturdier for next year.
One name worth watching is Daniel Gafford. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Dallas Mavericks are "actively fielding trade offers" for Gafford, and that kind of availability should put him on Utah’s radar quickly.
The fit is easy to see. The Jazz moved Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade earlier this offseason, a future-minded decision that brought in extra draft capital from the Los Angeles Lakers but also left a short-term hole at center.
Right now, Utah’s options at the five include Jusuf Nurkic, Jaxson Hayes, Mo Bamba, and maybe some Kyle Filipowski. That’s a group that could use another defensive anchor, especially with Jaren Jackson Jr. in the frontcourt mix.
Gafford isn’t the kind of center who changes an offense with skill work or shot creation. What he does bring is the stuff Utah needs: rim protection, rebounding, and a defensive edge in the middle.
He has averaged nearly 7.0 rebounds and a little over 1.5 blocks per game during his time in Dallas. Last season, he ranked in the 70th percentile among big men for points allowed per 100 possessions while on the floor.
There’s also the contract angle. Gafford will be 28 next season and is under team control for the next three years, which gives him real value as a steady rotational piece rather than just a one-year patch. That makes him a sensible target if Utah isn’t ready to chase a bigger, pricier option such as Jarrett Allen.
If the Jazz wanted to make a serious run at Gafford without gutting the roster, a package built around John Konchar and Brice Sensabaugh could make sense. Konchar is an expiring veteran wing with defensive upside, while Sensabaugh is a younger expiring piece who could appeal to Dallas as either a starter candidate or a sixth-man scorer.
Sensabaugh would be the key piece for Utah, and he’s still part of the team’s future plans. But if the Jazz aren’t planning to extend him before restricted free agency next offseason, flipping him now for help in the frontcourt - or for more assets - is a reasonable path.
Utah also has three second-round picks available in next year’s draft, and one of those could be enough to push a deal over the line if Dallas needs a little more incentive. If the Mavericks are truly open for business on Gafford, the Jazz have a clear reason to stay involved.
In Other News...
Lakers Trade Idea Would Put Mavericks In The Middle Of Luka Drama
The Lakers offseason has already taken a sharp turn after LeBron James told the team he will not be back next season, and their roster rework is starting to show it. Los Angeles has already landed Walker Kessler from Utah in a deal built around future draft picks, a sign the front office is moving quickly to reset the depth chart and keep the conversation centered on Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
One of the more intriguing possibilities now floating around would drag the Mavericks into the middle of it. The framework being discussed would send Bronny James, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia and a 2032 pick swap to Dallas, with PJ Washington as the kind of player Los Angeles could target in return. For the Mavericks, it is the sort of proposal that instantly becomes more than a roster note, because any move involving Washington and the Lakers would inevitably reopen the Luka storyline from a very different angle. [Read more 🡒]
Luka Trade Fallout May Have Just Created Another Mavericks Gut Punch
What Dallas gave up in the Luka Doni trade in February still has ripple effects around the league, and the latest one landed in Los Angeles. The Lakers just went out and got Walker Kessler from Utah in a sign-and-trade, a move that cost them multiple future first-round picks and drew the kind of scrutiny that comes with any aggressive center swing. But around the league, part of the logic was simple enough: once a team has already landed Doni without surrendering the kind of draft capital it might normally take, it can feel a little more comfortable paying up elsewhere.
For the Mavericks, that is the uncomfortable part of the fallout. Donis new setting in Los Angeles is already shaping how the Lakers think about their roster, and Kessler is the latest player whose value is being viewed through that lens. The idea is straightforward: a playmaker like Doni can make a rim-running center look cleaner in the pick-and-roll and help cover some of the same areas Kessler already brings on the glass and at the rim. Dallas does not get a say in any of that, but it is still paying the price in a league where one blockbuster can keep changing the market long after it is made. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Rumor Puts Mavericks In Another Uncomfortable Spotlight
The Lakers pursuit of Jonathan Kuminga has run into the sort of sign-and-trade complications that can send a front office back to the board, and P.J. Washington has surfaced as a possible fallback if that path closes off. For Dallas, it is another reminder that one of its most useful frontcourt pieces is drawing attention from a team that has already done business with the Mavericks in a way the fan base has not forgotten.
Washingtons contract has been viewed around the league as a tricky one to move, even as his size and two-way versatility make him the kind of player contenders keep circling. The question for the Mavericks is not just whether the Lakers are serious, but whether ownership would want to enter another major conversation with Los Angeles so soon after the shock of the Luka Doncic deal. [Read more 🡒]