Andy Bailey: Utah Jazz should be open to trading up in NBA Draft if possible, but their options r…
DJPK and we are joined now by Andy Bailey, NBA writer and analyst for Bleacher Report. Andy, welcome back to the show. Thank you for having me, guys. Appreciate it. So, it’s less than a month to the NBA draft. Now, we had the draft lottery and there was lots of disappointment and all of that, but is the draft order going to hold? Are teams going to trade? Are the Jazz going to be involved? Are the Spurs going to move? Do they need another guard who’s 66 or smaller? really is Harper a great fit at 66 next to Castle who’s listed at 66 and and Fox who they acquired from Sacramento who’s 6’3. Does that make sense? So the Spurs they got to make a deal. It’s a great small ball lineup but everybody’s trying to get bigger. They’re trying to get smaller. Yeah, I mean you set it up perfectly. I I think the six or not the Sixers the they’re another one. Um, but the Spurs are primed to make a move and I they, you know, they’ve been posturing for basically ever since the lottery that they think all three of those guys can play together. But I’m with you. Um, I I think you want to be a little bit bigger than that. I guess theoretically you can you can play those three together and think that you’d be fine athletically. Um, Pit Harper and Castle are pretty long for their position and for that matter, so is Darren Fox. He’s got a decent wingspan, too. Uh, but I I would bet that they’re at least canvasing the league right now. Um, I inadvertently mentioned the Sixers because I think they’re also a pretty uh easy candidate to make a move. Um, they’re certainly not a team that’s going to, you know, they they’re on the clock every single year with Joel Embiid, assuming his title window is even open at this point. I mean, they’ve got a strike now, and the number three pick doesn’t really help them do that unless it’s traded for some kind of veteran. So, I think both of those are very much up for grabs. Um, Utah seems like a team that could be in the mix uh for for those picks. Um, I think a lot of that would depend on how big their appetite is to move Lori Markin. um he would obviously help either one of those teams a lot, but I I’m not sure, you know, I think it’s a no-brainer obviously if you’re moving market and for a chance to get flagged, but that’s just not on the table. Uh I’m not sure Harper or Bailey moved the needle enough for me to be to be super confident in trading market marketing, honestly. But I’m sure all three of those teams are are making lots of calls right now. How about if you move marketing for that second or third pick and you get to keep the fifth pick. Say that again. I’m not sure how they uh so the Jazz trade marketing they get either Philly or San Antonio and maybe they include a couple other things. Uh but they also keep their current pick. So meaning they have two f top five picks. That’s definitely a lot more interesting. and and as you talked through it the second time, I thought, okay, I see where you’re coming from. And I do think that’s a possibility. Um, and you know, if they walk away from the draft with Harper and say Trey Johnson, that’s a pretty interesting Paul. And, you know, I think this has to be factored into the discussion no matter what you’re keeping. Um, you have to wonder how old marketing is going to be whenever the Jazz are good again. Yeah. and they can I mean there are ways they can speed up that timeline. Um I think Indiana is a really good example uh of a team that just sort of stayed in the mix for years and years and years until they finally cashed in on this current iteration. And I think they’re kind of proving that maybe you don’t need to tank. Um but that ship has already sailed for Utah. Um, it’s kind it’s kind of my roundabout way of saying if if they wanted to make moves to get competitive now and not necessarily be a title contender, I think you could sell that. Uh, and I think Lorie Markin would be good in that scenario. Um, but given what they’ve done over the last two years, it’s it’s probably not all that difficult to justify one more, you know, really rebuild focused move. Uh, and if if it resulted in them having two top five picks in this draft, um, obviously that’s a lot that’d be a lot harder to pass up than, you know, if you have to give up to five. We know the names that have been thrown out there at the top of the draft. And I’m curious if you scream in the night like that is the guy. Why is he so far down on the list? Or is there also someone who just makes you shudder like that guy is on the uh as J Drew once said on the road to Bustville. Why in the world is that guy’s name in the mix this high up? That makes no sense to me. You anybody feel strongly about in either direction? I’ll give you a few. I I have a couple guys in the first category. Um the more I watch and read about Trey Johnson, the more I like him. I mentioned him earlier talking about the Jazz. Um I just think that mold of kind of the smooth shooting guard who can, you know, create a little bit as well is is a really interesting player. I don’t think it’s a great comp, but one name that comes to mind is Devin Booker. And that’s a name that I think has haunted Jazz fans for years because they had a chance to draft him once upon a time. And then the other one in that category, and I think this is just my personal preference. I’ I’ve always liked guys that are big on feel and big on skill. And I I think I tend to weigh that a little bit more heavily than athleticism as opposed to some other analyst. And that’s Coniple. Um a guy who just you just know he can play basketball, as simplistic as that sounds. Um he can do a little bit of everything. He’s got a very repeatable jump shot, which I always like. His mechanics are great on that. I think he’s got solid feel as a playmaker for a guy his size. So, both of those dude, both of dudes, both of those guys are interesting to me in that range for the Jazz. And the one that I have just been hesitant on this entire way through, really even during the college season was Ace Bailey. And I understand the appeal with like the length and jump shot combined with that length. Um, but he gives off vibes of in in maybe the worst ways, Michael Porter Jr., who is a player that I actually think is kind of underrated in the NBA, but but his weaknesses are the fact that he doesn’t really do a lot besides shoot. Um, and I I have a feeling that could be the case with Ace Bailey, too. a guy who’s, you know, you you like those two traits at the top, the slides and the shooting. Um, but if he’s not contributing in the other categories, it’s just it’s hard to see how impactful he’ll be. I think the the further we get into this positionless or largely positionless era of basketball, the more you want guys who can do a lot of different things, it just makes your team more dynamic, less predictable, and I’m not sure Ace Bailey is going to fit that mold. If the draft holds, as expected, the top three or four, if you are the Jazz management, who would you take at five? I think I’d probably take Johnson. Um, I have a mock draft pulled up here right now. They they’ve got Jeremiah Fears going there, which I think is kind of interesting, too. But I um and when you have the number five pick and you’re in Utah’s situation where you’ve already been rebuilding for a couple years, you’re obviously not going to be drafting for need. They’re just going to take the best player available. So, that’s my caveat to what I’m about to say, but I do kind of like um Kee George and Isaiah Collier. I’m not sure either one of those guys is going to be a star. Um, but I’m I’m just a little bit more I’m a little higher on the wing upside than the point guard upside. And so I would probably go with Trey Johnson. Um, at number five if if everything, like you said, if everything kind of goes to form through those top four picks, there is a pick at 21. Is there anybody real value out there that you just can’t wait to see someone take a flyer on? I mean, the odds aren’t great at 21, but people do hit. Is there anyone you’ve got any conviction in? I don’t know if I’ve used the word conviction. Um, intrigue. How about intrigue? Serious intrigue. And I just I just gave a little spiel about how they might not necessarily need a point guard, but I think Walter Clayton is interesting there. Um, I don’t think you have to worry too much about age at this point. I know, you know, everybody’s so obsessed with we have to have everybody on the same timeline. Um, but in a way, you could kind of get some veteran leadership from a rookie if you took a guy like Walter Clayton there. And I and I think he could I think he’d have a chance to play. Um, you know, I just said I like Collier and George, but I don’t think either one of those guys is settled in as the point guard of the future. So, he’s he’s an interesting one to me um around that range depending on how far he falls. Um, and I think he’s a candidate to potentially fall if uh Igor Denon, hopefully I’m saying that right, from BYU. Obviously, a lot of Utah area fans are going to know who he is. I think he’d be an interesting guy if he falls that far. Combination of size and playmaking is always super intriguing to me, and he’s got he’s got that in spades. Um, so that that one’s a little bit more uh draft dependent because I don’t think he’s going to fall to 21, but I don’t think it’s out of the question either. So, you hail from the other side of our mountain range and know the Nuggets very well. Obviously, they did not have enough depth to compete at the level that they had been competing. What can they do to get better? They’re such an interesting situation. um whoever they hire to be the general manager is walking into a pretty tough spot because Calvin Booth has really already played every card um that Denver had. Their their draft assets are almost entirely spent. I think the two the two contracts that people probably anticipate being available, which is Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., Um, I don’t think either one of those guys has a ton of trade value right now and it has has to do with durability a lot um with both of them and just the size of their contracts too. I think it’s going to be daunting for teams. They’re they are the kind of players that if you trade them to get better, you probably have to attach picks. And Denver has already spent all of its picks. The the move that blew my mind at the time and I just keep coming back to is um I think it was just last summer, they salary dumped Reggie Jackson to the Hornets and they attached three second round picks to him to get it done. Um and you know, second round picks don’t have a ton of value, but if you were paying attention at the last trade deadline, there were a lot of useful players who were moved for second round picks. And so they’ve just spent so much of their capital. Um, I think it’s going to have to be a fringe type of a move. And I think you could probably sell that. I, you know, their their top five is still really good when they’re healthy, as rare as that is. But if they could put together, you know, like Zeke Naji and maybe a little bit more salary and go get a backup five of Kelly Len, that’s that’s an idea that’s intrigued me for a while. Um, but the kind of realistic trades you’re thinking about for the Nuggets aren’t going to blow anybody’s socks off. Like, they’re just they’re probably not going to be able to swing a massive move this summer just because they’ve already spent everything they have. They need to find a Joe Engles coming over from Europe. They need to find someone in the G-League. They need to find their undrafted Alex Caruso. And yeah, stuff like that. Um you you just been named a bunch of examples and a guy like Joe Engles would be perfect for them. A playmaker with size. Those guys are obviously hard to get. Um and I think Denver’s coaching staff or at least the previous one didn’t didn’t have a great track record of developing unknown assets. Um but it’s moves like those that really can make the difference for an entire NBC NBA season. They kind of had one a couple years ago. Um, a lot of analysts famously thought the uh Contavius Calwell Pope move that they made was kind of an effort to duck the luxury tax, but that was that was a fringe move that turned out to swing a title race. So, yeah, it’s going to have to be something under the radar. And if it’s as far under the radar as, you know, somebody coming from an overseas league or an undrafted free agent, um, you know, those, if you hit a home run on one of those, you are in great shape. We were, um, debating earlier, not the best player on the market, okay, Giannis, right? But who’s the best value in a big trade, right? Durant could be moved. Uh, Markin could be moved. Giannis could be moved. You can go down a list of of people, but you know, if you to get Giannis, you might have to give up so much you don’t have enough left to have the championship team you crave by bringing Giannis on board. So, is there a player out there you think really outstrips their value on the trademark and somebody can make a really good deal? And is it marketing just to lead the witness? Lead the witness. I was going to say it’s so funny you ended the question that way because um even as you mentioned his name going through the question I thought maybe it’s marketing. Um the trick there is I think Danny A will be very uh aggressive or stingy in those trade negotiations and he may try to extract a ton of value to move him. So that that throws off that whole value balance we were just talking about potentially. Um, but when he was healthy those, you know, first two years in Utah, he was one of the most uh interesting unique offensive weapons in the league. Um, so little wasted dribbles in motion with him. It was just all finishing, all threes, all dunks, all aggressive. Um, he would just be an incredible finisher next to any playmaker in the league. Uh, I, you know, it’s fitting that he’s nicknamed the finisher, obviously. I mean, he just he’s phenomenal at that. So, he’s one that stands out. Um, an interesting one to me and it’s it comes with a mountain of risk is Zion Williamson. And it depends on, you know, again, how much does New Orleans want to extract to give him up? And if you trade for him, obviously you’re going to be biting your fingernails the entire time you have him on the team because who knows how much he’s going to play. who knows when he’s going to get hurt, but when he is healthy uh on those rare occasions, he’s another guy that’s just a phenomenal offensive weapon and an incredible finisher like Markin as well. Not not the shooter obviously, but an incredible interior finisher and I think a very underrated playmaker. Um so he’s he’s an interesting one. I don’t know if he fits the value uh part of the question as much. Uh but he’s he’s certainly somebody that I think we’re going to hear about this summer. Andy, we appreciate it. It is always good to talk to you and maybe we’ll check in with you again right before the draft as things uh change and things shift leading up to it. Uh thanks for joining us this morning. Appreciate it, fellas. Have a good one. Andy Bailey, NBA writer and analyst for Bleacher Report joining us right here on the zone. When we come back, everything you missed during today’s show. That’s next. Stay with us.
Bleacher Report analyst and writer Andy Bailey joined DJ & PK to talk about the NBA Draft and what he makes of the options for the Utah Jazz.
