The Utah Jazz just completed a curious trade, sending high-volume scorer Collin Sexton and a 2030 second-round selection to the Charlotte Hornets for the modest return of Jusuf Nurkić.
This is largely confusing and could be the first step in a series of moves for the Jazz.
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Or … they could just have made a trade that makes very little sense. Guess we’ll find out.
Onto the grades we go!
Jazz get bigger and perhaps clear opportunities for Ace Bailey
Let’s get one thing out of the way. Sexton is a better player than Nurkić and not by an insignificant margin. For the Jazz to send out a pick sweetener seems backward, especially when you consider Sexton’s contract is just $18.9 million and expires next summer, same as Nurkić’s.
So this isn’t even a cap-clearing move. If anything, the Jazz actually take on money, as Nurkić sits at just under $19.4 million.
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So the Jazz took on more money, sent out a pick and also gave away the best player in the deal?
There can only be a few explanations for that, and the first centers around Ace Bailey, the fifth overall pick in this week’s NBA Draft.
Bailey is a high-volume shot-taker, a description that also fits Sexton. By removing Sexton from the equation, the Jazz could be leaning into the Bailey experience by offering him a healthy diet of shots right from the jump.
That doesn’t quite explain why they’d gift-wrap Sexton to the Hornets. Not unless they’re bringing in a center in order to move another, such as Walker Kessler.
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Why would Kessler potentially be on the move? One theory could be the Lakers having interest and perhaps they’ve offered an attractive package for the 23-year-old.
We don’t know whether that’s in the cards, but surely we can’t rule out such a theory, especially given the aforementioned trade package they relinquished for Nurkić, who tends to fall out of the rotation with most teams.
Grade: Incomplete.
Something here doesn’t pass the smell test, and presumably the Jazz have something else lined up. If this is the totality of what they’re trying to achieve, then we’re looking at a failing grade.
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For Charlotte’s side, it all makes sense
Sure, the Hornets just shipped out Nurkić and Mark Williams within a week, meaning they don’t have a ton of center depth.
But they also had another problem.
LaMelo Ball hasn’t exactly been the pillar of availability in recent years, and Sexton is one hell of an insurance policy.
The 26-year-old is a career 18.8-point scorer who has sported a true-shooting percentage of 60.4 during his Jazz tenure.
He’s a rock-solid reliable scoring option who offers significant efficiency on high volume. If Ball goes down again, the Hornets can easily ask Sexton to absorb the extra offensive responsibility.
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And they got a pick on top of that, while sending out Nurkić, who couldn’t even break 20 minutes per game for them.
That’s a slam dunk.
Grade: A+
Whether they got offered this out of thin air or negotiated this over the course of months, the Hornets agreed to terms that overwhelmingly favor them.
