The Triple Team: The Jaren Jackson Jr. trade also means some difficult goodbyes for the Utah Jazz

Three thoughts on the week in Jazz basketball from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.

1. Departures are a bummer

The first version of this Triple Team was written before the Jazz made their big trade deadline move, sending four players and three picks to the Grizzlies in exchange for Jaren Jackson Jr., John Konchar, Jock Landale (who was later sent to Atlanta), and Vince Williams Jr.

That’s meant a lot of writing since, and I hope you find it valuable. I talked to players in the wake of the trade about their immediate reaction, and it’s clear they’re excited about what the trade means for the Jazz’s future. I also broke down the trade in detail, explaining what exactly the Jazz are getting back in this deal and how it impacts the team in the long haul. Check those links out, if you’re so inclined.

In this space, though, I figured I’d give some space to the departure of four Jazz players and what they meant to the team.

Georges Niang and Kyle Anderson are two pretty delightful veterans.

Niang is just so gregarious and outgoing, as Jazz fans will remember from his first stint with the team. On Tuesday, at shootaround, he, Jazz assistant coach Jason Terry, and I had a lengthy conversation about the pros and cons of AJ Dybantsa and the rest of the 2026 draft class — the man just loves to chat.

Anderson is not much different, and his insight on all sorts of NBA experiences was legitimately fascinating in postgame talks. Ace Bailey spoke Tuesday about how Anderson really helped him understand his approach to the NBA level, about the importance of playing decisively and within his game.

As for Walter Clayton Jr., it was immediately clear when the Jazz drafted him that he was different than the other rookies the Jazz have drafted in recent years. More professional, more surly. Frankly, tougher. A fighter. In the locker room, though, I think it was a good thing for the Jazz’s youth to see someone thinking like that.

But I’ll miss Taylor Hendricks the most, I think. He’s just such a good guy; goofy but shy to show it until the right moment comes along. In that way, he becomes really easy to attach to — Keyonte George was legitimately near tears when Hendricks broke his leg and when he came back, and you could tell his trade Tuesday really tore him up. He worked so hard to get back to health, and changed his body in the meantime too.

His twin brother Tyler transferred to Utah Valley University this season, I’m sure figuring he’d enjoy a lot of family time. Now, Taylor is in Memphis, brothers separated again.

The go-to cliche in these situations is that the NBA is “a business” — I heard that probably a dozen times Tuesday. It is a particularly rewarding one, to be sure. However, it also is particularly heartless.

2. The great and the scary of Isaiah Collier

That might be the most up-and-down couple of weeks one Jazz player has ever had.

Two weeks ago, Isaiah Collier put up an abysmal seven-point, six-turnover game against the Spurs, where he simply wasn’t near NBA-caliber. Especially against San Antonio’s transition game, giving up that many turnovers nearly ensures a loss.

And then on Tuesday night, he put up a truly glorious 22-assist, two-turnover performance. Sure, it was in a weird game against the Indiana Pacers, a game in which the Jazz only had one ballhandler available and Collier played all 48 minutes and set numerous records.

Talk about a roller coaster.

Let’s start with the bad: as this graphic from SLCDunk writer Dray Mottishaw shows, the Jazz’s minutes with Collier on the floor have been pretty darn negative.

You can’t blame the lineups when nearly every single player’s numbers become significantly worse when you’re on the floor. Nearly across the board, the Jazz go from somewhat average to abysmal with Collier out there. Mottishaw goes hard here with the criticism, but given how analytically-backed it is, it’s hard to call it unfair.

But Collier does have clear skills. The standout one is the passing. Again, he had 22 assists in one basketball game! The most since John Stockton in a Jazz uniform! The most in an NBA game this season! He is a truly enjoyable, creative, intuitive passer who, when he’s on, can singlehandedly make Jazz games an enjoyable watch.

The other skill he’s shown a lot of recently is the drive, bump, and finish. When his defender is even the slightest bit off-balance, he can drive the paint and use his stocky frame to get separation within 10 feet of the basket, where he’s actually pretty good at finishing a flip floater off of two feet. Defenders rarely help because of the passing part.

“I’ve talked a lot about him playing off two feet, I think it’s allowed his decision making to be a lot cleaner,” Will Hardy said. “Getting all the way to the rim in the half court in the NBA is hard to do. His decision-making has really improved since he started playing off two feet in the paint more. I also think that his general understanding of our team, our offense, where his moments are to be aggressive are has improved as well.”

Those skills mean that, if he’s even average at the defense, rebounding, and smaller elements of the game, he can be a really valuable player. But he needs to turn up the effort there in order to succeed, or else teams won’t be able to shoulder the negative impact for long.

3. Flip at the 4 vs. 5

As analysts around the league have looked at the Jazz’s standing in the wake of the trade, one question mark has been Kyle Filipowski — probably, at this point, the fourth frontcourt player under contract for next year behind Markkanen, Jackson Jr., and Kessler.

Will Hardy’s been pretty clear in recent interviews that he considers Kyle Filipowski more of a power forward than a center. For example, when he was asked about Filipowski playing at the four against the Spurs, Hardy said:

“I’m just happy that Flip gets to play his position. You know, I’ve said this to Flip: There are moments where he’s put in a tough spot because he plays out of position for long stretches, and that’s not necessarily fair. I try to make sure, in the evaluation of Flip and the coaching of Flip, that you’re holding him accountable to things that are realistic. Is there a lineup where Flip can play five some? Yes, but Flip is not a five, and so it’s been great to get him kind of slotted into his natural position. I think it gives him so much more chance for success. But it also is good for his confidence, because some of that success is just based on actually getting to play where he should.”

There are what, six times in that quote where Hardy asserts Filipowski is a four, not a five? Couldn’t be clearer.

But talking to Filipowski at Jazz shootaround Tuesday, he considers himself both a four and a five — and thinks one of his best aspects is that he is capable of both.

“That’s what also makes me a unique player is being able to play the four and the five,” Filipowski said. “Because on nights like tonight, the five will be to my advantage. And so, still having that in my skill set, and knowing what to do and being in that position, I think, is really important for times like these. So I definitely always work on both sides of my game, with being the four or the five.”

The statistical record on this is uneven. Last season, the Jazz were better when Filipowski played the five (-7.2 net rating) than the four (-14.4). This season, though, that’s flipped — no pun intended. Now, the Jazz are -6.6 when Filipowski plays the four, and -9.8 when he plays the five, per CleaningTheGlass. Interestingly, the difference comes on the offensive end. On defense, the Jazz have the same 123.4 defensive rating wherever Filipowski plays this year.

To be honest, that paragraph indicates that the concerns about Filipowski’s position are probably overblown — in general, he just needs to produce at a higher level no matter where he is on the floor. The efficiency overall needs to improve, the turnovers should decline, and he needs to defend at a far higher level without fouling so much.