The Utah Jazz have already made a considerable share of trades so far this NBA offseason, shaking up their roster by shipping out multiple tenured veterans, emphasizing this group’s youth movement, and moving into the season ahead looking noticeably different in a few key areas.
However, while the offseason has mostly died down and teams have begun to get settled ahead of next season, that doesn’t mean the Jazz would turn down the opportunity at one final move to get this roster right before the year.
And in the mind of Bleacher Report’s Eric Picnus, there could be an intriguing four-team trade worth investigating for the Jazz.
Picnus recently outlined a big four-team trade involving the Jazz with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, and Orlando Magic, holding a primary purpose of ironing out the Timberwolves’ looming point guard questions for this season.
Here’s the full parameters of the four-team deal:
Timberwolves get: Anthony Black
Hawks get: Rob Dillingham (from Timberwolves), 2031 second-rounder (via Timberwolves), $4.5 million trade exception (Kobe Bufkin)
Jazz get: Kobe Bufkin (from Hawks), Bones Hyland (from Timberwolves), $1.1 million (from Magic)
Magic get: 2026 protected first-rounder (via Hawks), 2028 second-rounder (via Jazz), $8.0 million trade exception (Anthony Black)
Along with the deal, Swartz also provided a rationale as to why the Jazz would do such a deal, calling the move a “no brainer” for Utah to accept.
“Utah essentially gets a free look at Bufkin. The rebuilding Jazz are acquiring young players to see which ones pop,” Swartz wrote. “Adding an almost 22-year-old former lottery pick for nothing but a weak 2028 second-rounder (the lowest of five teams) seems like a no-brainer.
“Roster space is an issue. The team is acquiring Georges Niang from the Boston Celtics, and with Bufkin and Hyland, the Jazz would need to get out of three players before the start of the regular season. Kevin Love is expected to be traded or cut, but Utah would have a couple of months to sort out the end of the roster (perhaps KJ Martin, Svi Mykhailiuk or Kyle Anderson). Hyland, who would only have the 2025-26 season guaranteed on his deal, might last a few days with the team, ripe for waiver to play overseas.”
In all, the Jazz land two guards in Kobe Bufkin and Bones Hyland, both still seemingly finding their place in the league as worthwhile rotational guards, and essentially two throws at a dart board for Utah when it comes to trying to strike gold on younger, budding talent, all for the price of a low-cost, future second round pick.
Dec 2, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Kobe Bufkin (4) shoots against the New Orleans Pelicans in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
/ Brett Davis-Imagn Images
On the surface, it’s far from a bad deal for the Jazz to consider, but the real question for Utah to pull the trigger on a deal like this centers upon what their roster space situation holds. Currently, the Jazz have 16 traditional contracts on their roster before any moves are made on Kevin Love, making the acquistion of two new players via trade easier said than done.
Both KJ Martin and Svi Mykhailiuk sit on non-guaranteed contracts for next season, so if Utah really coveted a deal like this, moves could be made on them, or someone else on the roster to create that space. But would that be worth taking a flyer on guys like Bufkin and Hyland? That’s a question for the Jazz brass to decide.
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