Don’t expect the Utah Jazz to light up the trade deadline this year. The front office isn’t shopping Lauri Markkanen - and they’re reportedly planning to hold onto Jusuf Nurkic too, even though he’s one of the more appealing veterans on the roster. So while other teams might be scrambling to make splashy moves, the Jazz seem poised to play things cool.
That doesn’t mean they’ll be completely quiet, though. Utah’s front office has shown a knack for getting involved in deals that don’t necessarily make headlines but still move the needle - like helping facilitate blockbuster trades or absorbing contracts to help other teams manage their books.
With the NBA’s luxury tax and new apron rules pressing down hard on front offices, teams are eager to shed salary. That’s where Utah could come in.
The Jazz currently have the second-most cap space in the league, trailing only the Brooklyn Nets. They’re sitting about $10 million under the salary cap, which gives them a rare kind of flexibility in a league where most teams are either capped out or dancing around the tax line. That kind of space doesn’t just give you room to chase free agents - it makes you a valuable trade partner for teams looking to offload money.
One name that’s been floated - not reported, but speculated - in this context is D’Angelo Russell. He’s fallen out of the rotation in Dallas, and with the Mavericks dealing with injuries and looking to fine-tune their roster, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them try to move his salary. Utah could theoretically step in and take on his contract in exchange for a minor asset.
Russell, the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft and a former All-Star with Brooklyn, once looked like a rising star. He was a smooth-scoring guard with a flair for the dramatic and a knack for big moments.
But the spark that made him special has dimmed in recent years. His numbers have dipped, his role has shrunk, and he’s now on the outside looking in on a Mavericks team that’s been desperate for backcourt help.
If Utah were to take him on, it would likely be a cap play, not a basketball one. The Jazz already have a full roster, so they’d need to move or waive a player to make room. And it’s not like they’re in need of another ball-dominant guard - especially one with Russell’s baggage.
Because while there’s no denying his talent, Russell’s NBA journey has been marked by inconsistency and questions about his maturity. That’s not a great fit for a young Jazz team trying to build a cohesive identity. And there’s also a bit of history here that makes the idea of him landing in Utah particularly ironic.
Remember his brief stint with Rudy Gobert in Minnesota? That pairing never worked.
On the court, the chemistry was off. Off the court, it was worse.
Russell was openly critical of Gobert, and the tension between them was a major storyline during their time as teammates. When the Timberwolves finally moved Russell and brought in Mike Conley - a steady veteran and former Jazz leader - the vibes shifted dramatically.
The team got better. The locker room got healthier.
The Gobert trade, which had looked like a misstep, started to make more sense.
So the idea of Russell ending up in Utah - the franchise where Gobert became a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and the heart of the team for nearly a decade - is more than a little ironic. Not because the Jazz need him, but because of what he represented during one of the more turbulent stretches of Gobert’s career.
If Utah were to acquire Russell, it would likely be a financial maneuver. They could waive and stretch his deal without it putting much of a dent in their cap sheet. It wouldn’t be a needle-mover on the court, but it could help the Jazz pick up a future asset or two from a team desperate to get under the tax line.
In the grand scheme, a move like that wouldn’t change the trajectory of Utah’s season. But it would be one of those under-the-radar, front-office chess moves that the Jazz have gotten pretty good at.
And if it happens to come with a little extra irony along the way? Well, that’s just part of the fun.