Jazz Stand Pat At Thursday’s Trade Deadline
Feb 10, 2022, 1:27 PM
Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson stands in front of Sacramento Kings center Alex Len (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – After Wednesday’s trade that sent Joe Ingles, Elijah Hughes, and two second round draft picks out in exchange for Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Juancho Hernangomez, the Utah Jazz stood pat at Thursday’s deadline.
Despite rumors involving Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes, Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon, and Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant, the Jazz roster remained largely intact ahead of their 2022 playoff run.
The NBA was not without its fireworks at the deadline as the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers exchanged James Harden for Ben Simmons, and Dallas sent Kristaps Porzignis to Washington, the Jazz were not involved in any of the league’s biggest moves.
What does Nickeil Alexander-Walker offer the @utahjazz, and is there hope for his shooting?#TakeNote https://t.co/TPxosVxH6K
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 9, 2022
This season the Jazz have once again struggled with their perimeter defense, making them susceptible to collapses against small ball opponents who pull star center Rudy Gobert away from the rim.
While the newly acquired Alexander-Walker brings the Jazz added length on the perimeter, he’s not established himself as a defensive stalwart over his first two and a half seasons in the league.
The Jazz will bet on their recent improvements defensively, even with Gobert off the floor as the team has maintained the league’s 15th ranked defensive rating over the last eight games without the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
That’s an improvement from the five games the center missed due to COVID-19 in mid-January when the team’s defense dropped nearly to the bottom of the league.
The Jazz have held their last four opponents to 104 points or fewer over their last four games, all wins, snapping a five-game losing streak.
The team has seen a change to its rotation that has helped improve the defensive performance on the perimeter. In Ingles absence, guard Trent Forrest has averaged 10.3 points and 5.3 assists in 27 minutes per game with the second unit.
The @utahjazz turned in a defensive gem against the @warriors.
A look at the game, plus, Donovan Mitchell praised ESPN's all-women crew, and the insane number of important things that have happened since the Jazz last had a triple-double. #TakeNote https://t.co/Q86QjwQ2Uk
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 10, 2022
Additionally, Danuel House Jr. has signed three 10-day contracts with the team and is an option to rejoin the team before the end of the season, adding extra length and athleticism to the roster.
The Jazz are once again betting largely on internal improvement to fix the defensive woes that have eliminated them in each of their last two playoff outings, a gamble they won’t know the result of until it’s too late to fix any potential problems with a roster shakeup.
