Jazz-Suns-Clippers Three Way Trade
Utah Jazz receive: SG Avery Bradley, PG Milos Teodosic, C Marcin Gortat
Phoenix Suns receive: PG Ricky Rubio
LA Clippers receive: SF Trevor Ariza, C Ekpe Udoh, UTA 2021 Lottery-Protected First Round Pick
The Phoenix Suns have made their search for their franchises next point guard public, with names like Spencer Dinwiddie (Brooklyn Nets), Patrick Beverley (LA Clippers), and Terry Rozier (Boston Celtics) coming up often. Ricky Rubio has been know for his playmaking and passing since before the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted him fifth overall in 2009. With floor spacers like Devin Booker, T.J. Warren, Mikal Bridges, and others, Rubio’s lackluster jump shot won’t be as potent. Rubio could take defensive leadership of the Suns backcourt as Booker’s defense continues to progress and improve. They would be giving up Trevor Ariza, but they don’t need him now and he doesn’t have a role in their future. The Suns front office likely knew he was going to be a one year rental when they signed him in 2018 free agency.
The Jazz haven’t quite reached the heights this seasons that some predicted they would. Utah was one of the surprise teams last season. After All-Star Gordon Hayward left them for the Boston Celtics in 2017 free agency, no one expected the streaks and playoff success that they endeavored. They traded Trey Lyles and their 2017 first round pick to the Nuggets for Donovan Mitchell immediately after he was drafted and, with Mitchell, the Jazz have experienced more success than Hayward had ever led them too. They demolished the Oklahoma City Thunder in Round One of the 2018 Playoffs and brought the one seed Houston Rockets to five games. This season however, the Jazz have stumbled out of the gate to a record of 8-10. If they want to salvage the season, they should consider making a move.
Rubio will be a free agent this summer, and it is unsure if he intends on re-signing with the team. Moving him to acquire more depth could help their stars get rest and could give Mitchell an opportunity to play point guard, something coach Quin Snyder experimented with last season to mostly positive results. The Jazz were noted for their defense last season, but it isn’t having the same effect this season. Avery Bradley would serve as an above average backup to Mitchell and an improvement over current backup shooting guard Alec Burks. Marcin Gortat would give Utah a more suitable replacement at center for when Rudy Gobert exits the game.
Gobert is already among the best rim defenders in the league, a skill that landed him the Defensive Player of the Year Award last season. Gortat isn’t the best defender, but he is a great screen-setter, something that would give the Jazz a lot of open looks at the rim. Milos Teodosic has recently expressed interest in return to Europe to play in the Euro League, where he won the league’s MVP award in 2010. Perhaps playing in Utah’s pass-reliant offense that values ball movement would make him reconsider leaving the NBA.
The Clippers would be bring back Ekpe Udoh, who played for the team in the 2014-2015 season as a backup to DeAndre Jordan. Immediately after that season, Udoh found himself playing for a foreign club. He made his return to the NBA last season and is serviceable as a backup center that can block shots, but it is nearly a consensus that he won’t ever be what the Warriors were hoping when they drafted him sixth overall in 2010 ahead of guys like Paul George and Gordon Hayward. His interior defense would give the Clippers something they don’t have at the center position and Udoh would be a great alternative to the offensive-minded Boban Marjanovic.
If the Clippers were to do this trade, they would hope that Trevor Ariza plays as he did in Houston. There, Ariza would guard the best opposing backcourt player on defense and be relied on to make a couple three pointers each game on offense. Basically everything the Clippers would like Avery Bradley to be. This season, Ariza is averaging 3.5 assists per game, something Bradley doesn’t excel at. This bench playmaking would be incredibly valuable since the team is lacking an elite passer.