Jazz Notes: Why Did Utah Sell At Trade Deadline?

SALT LAKE CITY – After a bunch of speculation on the Jazz at the trade deadline, Utah decided to sell instead of buy.

Why did they go that route and what does it mean for the rest of the season?

On the Jazz Notes podcast, Ben Anderson and Chandler Holt recapped the trade deadline.

What is the best-case scenario for the rest of the @utahjazz season?@BensHoops and @ChandlerHoltKSL talk about this and more on this week’s episode of the Jazz Notes podcast!#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/LhQ2gSmff3

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 13, 2024

The Jazz traded Simone Fontecchio for Kevin Knox, the draft rights to Gabriele Procida, and a second-round draft pick last Wednesday.

On Thursday, Utah followed up by trading Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji to Toronto for Kira Lewis, Otto Porter, and a 2024 first-round pick.

Utah waived Kevin Knox one day after the trade deadline.

We have waived forward Kevin Knox II.https://t.co/ETentMl4Sa

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 9, 2024

In the two games following the moves, Utah went 0-2 and lost by an average of 18 points.

What Does The Rest Of The Utah Jazz Season Look Like?

The Jazz look on to the Lakers and Warriors before having nearly a week off for All-Star weekend.

“The 1-2 week resulted in the Jazz falling out of the postseason picture,” Holt said. “Right now, they’re 11th in the West. They’re 1.5 games from both rising up to 10th and falling down to 12th.”

If the Jazz end the season with one of the 10 worst records in the league, they will likely own a top-10 pick and not convey it to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

This combined with the lack of a ‘big splash’ move likely led to the Jazz deciding to sell.

“The Jazz are competing for the 12th, 11th, 10th, or 9th seeds in the West,” Anderson said. “That’s what’s realistically on the table and I think that really influenced what they did at the trade deadline.”

So, in all likelihood, Utah is not looking to make a postseason push and will bolster the roster in the offseason either through the draft or free agency.

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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.

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