So the Jazz are, in fact, talking to the Chicago Bulls about trading for Nikola Mirotic.
Talks are confirmed, not the trade itself. Not yet, anyway. Discussions are ongoing, but the interest is real. That acquisition would be noteworthy on a couple of levels.
First, the Jazz need scoring, especially from distance, especially from the position Mirotic plays — the four. In the case of Mirotic, the stretch-four, the very stretched-out-four.
Shooters are at a premium in the modern NBA, creating not just points but space. The points come when spacing is right. Not just points, but efficient points from all over the floor. That’s what Mirotic could give the Jazz.
Second, there are particulars to this specific acquisition that are unique.
Mirotic, who is averaging 17.4 points and seven rebounds while shooting an effective field goal percentage of 59.7 and hitting 46.5 of his shots from beyond the arc this season, wants a trade and is intrigued by playing for the Jazz, more specifically playing for Quin Snyder.
He wants out of Chicago for reasons that include having his face broken by teammate Bobby Portis just before the season’s start. That’s a fairly decent reason to push for a trade. Nothing says team chemistry quite like a hard cross to the mug.
The more compelling part of the story is that Mirotic wants to come to Utah.
To the Jazz’s credit, and more specifically to Snyder’s, they are building a reputation as a team that develops talent, getting the most out of players conscientious enough to want to improve, willing to listen and work to improve.
Gordon Hayward may not be the most popular guy around these parts these days, but he is a poster boy for what can be molded under Snyder’s — and his assistants’ — guidance.
Rudy Gobert is another.
Donovan Mitchell is another.
You and I know Salt Lake City’s charms, but Utah isn’t exactly a destination spot around the NBA for a lot of young millionaire basketball players. It’s not South Beach, it’s not Hollywood, it’s not a huge metropolis. That’s the rep. And that’s the track record in seasons gone by.
But the Jazz are altering some of those past biases.
They are putting in place basic elements of a program not too dissimilar from San Antonio’s, constructing an embryonic version of the Spurs’ foundation here, minus the resultant championships. No big surprise there. Dennis Lindsey and Snyder have roots in San Antonio and saw firsthand the fruits of that labor.
Players — some of them — like that stuff.
When Kyrie Irving wanted out of Cleveland, he was looking for a program like the Spurs’. He ended up in Boston, where another attractive program was being built.
So Mirotic, who is still only 26 and has restrictions in his contract on trades, wants to leave the Bulls and join the Jazz. Let’s stop and repeat that again. He wants to leave the Bulls and join the Jazz. How many times has that been said about players in the past? He wants to get better. He wants to learn under Snyder, to improve, to make himself more valuable, to make more money, and to win.
That’s pretty cool whether the trade happens or not.
He also wants to go someplace where nobody in his own locker room will punch him.
Moreover, it stands to reason that more than a few young talents would be eager to play with Jazz 25-and-under pillars Gobert and Mitchell.
The other half of the equation, of course, is what the Jazz would have to give up to get Mirotic. The Bulls will attempt to play one suitor against another in getting as much as they can for the forward. That’s business in the NBA.
In case anybody’s wondering, Mirotic and Derrick Favors, who becomes an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, are making about the same amount this year — $12 million and change. Such a trade would work for the Jazz, and it would make sense financially and competitively, particularly when Gobert returns. If the Jazz trade Favors, though, Gobert must stay healthy. Without a deal here, it’s hard to imagine that the Jazz would re-sign Favors at an inflated cost as a free agent, especially since the results with Gobert and Favors on the court together have been mixed, at best.
On account of Favors’ coming free agency, the Jazz would have to sweeten the deal with other assets or maybe a draft pick if he’s included in this transaction.
We will see.
Favors has played well in Gobert’s absence this season, and he’s a good teammate, a pleasant guy, a man who’s a better five than a four. As mentioned, if the Jazz aren’t going to re-sign him for what he’d get on the open market, they might as well get something in return for something lost. Mirotic playing alongside Gobert certainly would work better than Favors at the offensive end.
It might happen. It might not.
But there are good reasons for the former, if the price is anything short of unreasonable.
Gordon Monson hosts “The Big Show” with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone.
Follow @GordonMonson