Do The Jazz View Jarred Vanderbilt As Untouchable?
Bojan Bogdanovic was traded to Detroit earlier in the week but that almost wasn’t the case. The Jazz tried to trade Bogdanovic to the Sunds but trade talks blew up over, wait for it, Jarred Vanderbilt.
The Jazz took a cost cutting return from Detroit instead of one that could have been built around draft picks from Phoenix. Utah just wasn’t willing to move Vanderbilt in order to make it happen. Danny Ainge and the rest of the Utah front office must LOVE them some Jarred Vanderbilt!
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 had the initial report on the Jazz refusing to include Vanderbilt in trade talks. Tony Jones of The Athletic later confirmed the report.
Vanderbilt, 23, was originally part of that Rudy Gobert trade. A trade for the life of me, that I can’t understand. On the surface, Vanderbilt was a really nice fit in Minnesota. Rebounds his position well, doesn’t demand the ball, is a pesky defender with his length, and usually scores at a high percentage. To send the farm to upgrade from Vanderbilt to Gobert likely won’t be worth it for the Timberwolves.
Yes, the Jazz are in a full rebuild mode and any player should be for sale but I’m not sure Utah should just give Vanderbilt away. I think they may really have something here. I’m not sure this is in the cards but if Vanderbilt starts to develop an outside shot, the Jazz have a very good player on their hands.
Either way, playing on a bad team and getting crucial minutes will be important for development here. I think the Jazz have a right to be excited about Jarred Vanderbilt. Hey, Vanderbilt may not be totally untouchable but when you trade with Danny Ainge, you’re going to always overpay.
