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Any takers for DeShawn and Carlos?
By Rich Evans
Deseret Morning News
Before this season began, it seemed unlikely the Jazz would have much involvement in midseason trade talks.
It appeared then that the only guys who might have serious trade value — Andrei Kirilenko and Matt Harpring — would be largely untouchable.
That's probably still the case with Kirilenko. You'd have to think the Jazz would at least listen to offers for Harpring, if it meant they could get a big guy who would allow Kirilenko to play his true position, small forward.
But it would have to be a sure-fire addition, because Harpring has value far out of proportion to his $4.5-million salary, and the Jazz have him under contract for two more seasons after this one.
Kirilenko and Harpring aside, the Jazz have enough trade potential now that it wouldn't be surprising to see them make a move. And the two guys most likely to be trade bait are Carlos Arroyo and DeShawn Stevenson.
Arroyo is a good young player, but Raul Lopez seems to be more of a Jazz-type point guard, and he's under contract for two more seasons. Arroyo's contract expires after this season, and if he thinks the Jazz are committed to Lopez, he may decide to seek employment elsewhere.
If the Jazz don't think they can re-sign him, it obviously would be in their best interest to try to get something for him.
There are two possible obstacles to an Arroyo trade: One is that he only makes $1 million, so finding a guy worth trading him for at that salary level could be a challenge. The other is that the Jazz probably still have doubts about the sturdiness of Lopez's surgically repaired knee, and having Arroyo around lets them get good play out of the point-guard position while bringing Lopez along at a slower pace.
But turning the starter's job over to Lopez might result in faster development, and the No. 2 point guard job could be handled by rookie Mo Williams.
Anyway, at this point wins should be less important to the Jazz than developing their youngsters. Coach Jerry Sloan would point out here that players develop faster when they are winning, and it would be hard to argue with that. But the Jazz clearly are playing for the long term here, so if the right deal got offered for Arroyo, you'd have to think they'd jump at it.
As for Stevenson, his contract also expires after this season, and it seems a near sure thing that he'll try to go elsewhere, considering his occasional flare-ups with Sloan. Stevenson's trade value is harder to gauge, but his youth, improving jump shot and $1.6-million salary are bound to make him attractive to some general manager.
Here's a question: If you could package Arroyo and Stevenson for a first-round pick plus some worthless player whose salary will come off the books after this season, would you do it?
Right now Stevenson, like Arroyo, is the starter, but that may be more a case of trying to boost his trade value than a measure of his true status. His departure would leave the Jazz with a big-guard tandem of Raja Bell — who already plays most fourth quarters of close games — and Sasha Pavlovic — who has a lot of potential and could use increased minutes to help his development.
One other trade possibility is center Greg Ostertag. His contract expires after this season, and if the Jazz don't think they can or want to re-sign him, then it would make sense to at least listen to offers. There is no doubt a contending team or two out there that could use a big man, and — believe it or not — there are places around this league where Ostertag is held in higher esteem than he is here.
On the other hand, if the Jazz aren't planning to re-sign Ostertag, it won't hurt them a bit to have his $8.6 million come off the books next summer, when they figure to be active in the free-agent market again.
By Rich Evans
Deseret Morning News
Before this season began, it seemed unlikely the Jazz would have much involvement in midseason trade talks.
It appeared then that the only guys who might have serious trade value — Andrei Kirilenko and Matt Harpring — would be largely untouchable.
That's probably still the case with Kirilenko. You'd have to think the Jazz would at least listen to offers for Harpring, if it meant they could get a big guy who would allow Kirilenko to play his true position, small forward.
But it would have to be a sure-fire addition, because Harpring has value far out of proportion to his $4.5-million salary, and the Jazz have him under contract for two more seasons after this one.
Kirilenko and Harpring aside, the Jazz have enough trade potential now that it wouldn't be surprising to see them make a move. And the two guys most likely to be trade bait are Carlos Arroyo and DeShawn Stevenson.
Arroyo is a good young player, but Raul Lopez seems to be more of a Jazz-type point guard, and he's under contract for two more seasons. Arroyo's contract expires after this season, and if he thinks the Jazz are committed to Lopez, he may decide to seek employment elsewhere.
If the Jazz don't think they can re-sign him, it obviously would be in their best interest to try to get something for him.
There are two possible obstacles to an Arroyo trade: One is that he only makes $1 million, so finding a guy worth trading him for at that salary level could be a challenge. The other is that the Jazz probably still have doubts about the sturdiness of Lopez's surgically repaired knee, and having Arroyo around lets them get good play out of the point-guard position while bringing Lopez along at a slower pace.
But turning the starter's job over to Lopez might result in faster development, and the No. 2 point guard job could be handled by rookie Mo Williams.
Anyway, at this point wins should be less important to the Jazz than developing their youngsters. Coach Jerry Sloan would point out here that players develop faster when they are winning, and it would be hard to argue with that. But the Jazz clearly are playing for the long term here, so if the right deal got offered for Arroyo, you'd have to think they'd jump at it.
As for Stevenson, his contract also expires after this season, and it seems a near sure thing that he'll try to go elsewhere, considering his occasional flare-ups with Sloan. Stevenson's trade value is harder to gauge, but his youth, improving jump shot and $1.6-million salary are bound to make him attractive to some general manager.
Here's a question: If you could package Arroyo and Stevenson for a first-round pick plus some worthless player whose salary will come off the books after this season, would you do it?
Right now Stevenson, like Arroyo, is the starter, but that may be more a case of trying to boost his trade value than a measure of his true status. His departure would leave the Jazz with a big-guard tandem of Raja Bell — who already plays most fourth quarters of close games — and Sasha Pavlovic — who has a lot of potential and could use increased minutes to help his development.
One other trade possibility is center Greg Ostertag. His contract expires after this season, and if the Jazz don't think they can or want to re-sign him, then it would make sense to at least listen to offers. There is no doubt a contending team or two out there that could use a big man, and — believe it or not — there are places around this league where Ostertag is held in higher esteem than he is here.
On the other hand, if the Jazz aren't planning to re-sign Ostertag, it won't hurt them a bit to have his $8.6 million come off the books next summer, when they figure to be active in the free-agent market again.
