Can Jazz keep the culture of #TeamIsEverything at NBA Trade Deadline?

The trade deadline is just 11 days away. The rumors are floating around as always. The Jazz are interested in Mike Conley. The Jazz are interested in Otto Porter Jr. Oh wait the Jazz want to wait till the summer to finally use the money they have been saving in the form of “financial flexibility” since forever.

There are two names that always seem to pop up the season when it comes to trades. Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio. In the first half of the game the Jazz broadcast team did little to persuade Jazz fans that those rumors were false. Of course they did not come out and talk about trades but they sure did gush for a very long time about how wonderful Derrick Favors was, almost like they were trying to convince others of his greatness.

Favors has seemed to be on the trading block for years now. I don’t really understand it. Favors has always been a team first player. He seems to enjoy living in Utah. He endured the Ty years. He does whatever Quin Snyder asks of him, even if it includes a reduced role on the court.

Snyder on Favors role (from utahjazz. com) :

“What we ask Derrick to do is not always easy,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder has said. “His role can fluctuate at any given time, depending on what the team needs. His ability to embrace that has been something that’s really important. It sets an example for our team.

“Playing the 5, the 4. Starting, coming off the bench. Finishing games, not finishing games. There are just a lot of things that require you to stay mentally focused. It shows his character.”

Favors:

“Nothing fazes me anymore,” Favors said. “I’ve been through it all.”

“The NBA changes on you,” he said. “You’ve just got to always be able to adjust. Just find your nichet, find a way to be comfortable out there. Do you what you do and just have fun.”

How many starters would be willing to play reduced minutes and play as a backup center? How many starting power forwards could we bring in that would be willing to take a reduced role, or an ever changing role? How many are humble enough to put the team first like Favors does?

What about Ricky Rubio? Rubio is only in his second season with the Jazz. This year however his name keeps popping up in trade rumors. What does Rubio say about the rumors?

More from Rubio thanks to Eric Woodyard:

“As a team, it’s hard when a trade happens, especially when you have a team that connected, but I know and understand it’s a business and Kyle (Korver) is helping the team a lot,” he continued. “It was a great move so there’s balance to putting too much commitment to being a friend to somebody. That happens at every work; if they got a better job offer or the boss just decides to cut personnel, that happens. It happens in every business. I understand that this is a game and that’s why we love the game, but at the end of the day it’s a business.”

As Jazz fans it’s hard. Our team is as close as any team we have had. (That we are able to see through social media) There is a lot to be said about having team chemistry. I mean you get things like this:

And this:

Also things like this:

Team chemistry is fragile, its not something that should be messed with half-heartedly. The Jazz made minimal moves this summer hoping to capture the magic of the second half of last season. Due to a rough schedule that magic wasn’t captured right away. It took a small adjustment of trading Alec Burks for Kyle Korver. It took the lightening up of the schedule, time at home to gain the confidence the Jazz once had, but that magic seems to be back. Does Dennis Lindsey dare mess with this magic and chemistry with 31 games left?

What do you think? In 11 days will our team look the same? What changes will be made if there are trades to be made? Do the Jazz even need to make a trade?