Trade Deadline Day Has Arrived

You’ve heard the rumors. You’ve read the tweets. You’ve scanned the articles. You’ve listened to the podcasts. Chances are by now, you’re all caught up. If not, you’re a little late, but it doesn’t matter. What’s going to happen will happen today. No more rumors and conversations, it’s time to put up or shut up. It’s deadline day.

What in the world are the Jazz going to do? In an attempt to summarize rumors from the last week or so here’s what’s going down: the two most consistent pieces of trade talks have involved Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio- at least on Utah’s side of things. The most serious trade conversation so far has been with the Memphis Grizzlies in target of point guard Mike Conley.

Talks became questionable after news broke that Conley had no desire to play in Utah as opposed to moving to a team in the Eastern Conference.

The New Orleans Pelicans have also made stretch four Nikola Mirotic available, who the Jazz are interested in per Tony Jones of The Athletic.

The Jazz missed out on an Otto Porter trade after the Wizards traded him to Chicago for what seemed like a pretty beatable offer.

There’s the short and sweet summary from the past week or so of trade rumors. If you need more details, check out this thread of articles.

So, what now?

Do the Jazz sacrifice their team chemistry and camaraderie with hopes of landing the missing piece that pushes them into the realms of contention in a league of superteams? Do they take on one of the most expensive deals in the NBA for a 30+ year old guard who missed the majority of last season due to injury? Do they stand pat and hold out until free agency? Today, before 1:00 PM MST, these questions will be answered.

Trades are so tough, man. It’s hard for fans who grow to love these guys watching them go to battle and play their hearts out every night, buying their jerseys and fighting off haters on Twitter. You think of a guy like Derrick Favors, the longest tenured player on the Utah Jazz, who has meant so much to this franchise during his time here. A guy that has come up big in playoff games, played several different roles, and did just about whatever was asked of him if it meant doing what was best for the team. And then you have a guy like Ricky Rubio. A guy that is one the best and most caring people in the NBA, devoting countless hours to serve the community and help cancer patients, kids, and other deserving fans. Both, obviously, great basketball players as well who have come through in the moments when this team needed them. It’s so tough to imagine the team without these guys.

After the victory over the Suns last night, Joe Ingles talked about this team and how difficult it would be if they had to split up due to a trade. He also talks about the challenge of playing through trade rumors and dealing with these things on a personal level.

Joe’s candidacy is always the best. He just tells it like it is, and it’s really refreshing to have someone on the team do that at a time like this. The part that gets me during Joe’s comments is when he talks about Jazz players wanting to be here. We know that Favors and Rubio both really enjoy it here and want to stay a part of this team. Joe mentions that historically it’s been tough to find guys who really love playing in Utah, which is true. On the other hand of the equation, the Jazz are discussing trade those players who want to be here, for a player that has already said he doesn’t want to be here in Utah. Obviously, when it comes to trades, the player really has no say it where he ends up. The teams will trade where best suits them and they can get the most value in return. But bringing in a player who has already voiced his lack of desire to play in your city doesn’t seem like a great idea on paper, even if there is a chance of him changing his mind.

I, personally, am not a big fan of change. Especially when it deals with a basketball team I’ve loved my entire life and players that I legitimately care for, as silly as it seems. But sometimes change is good. If it means improving the team and increasing the odds of bringing a championship to this franchise, I think we can all agree it’s worth it. But there’s a lot to trading and moving players around that you just don’t know, and that’s where risk comes into play.

Whether you like it or not, something is going to happen today, or not happen. A fanbase will be torn, no matter what Dennis Lindsey and the Utah Jazz decide to do on trade deadline day 2019. Sit back and enjoy it (aka don’t have a panic attack). Try to get some work done (lol we all know that’s not happening). Don’t waste all of your phone battery within the first 6 hours of the day (or do). Whatever you do on trade deadline day, just make sure you’re paying attention so you don’t miss it. And whatever happens, at least we have Donovan and Rudy to hang the future on, so we can’t lose.