It was recently announced that second year point guard Dante Exum of the Utah Jazz suffered a torn ACL while playing with the Australian National team. The injury is a big blow to a team many considered playoff contenders. For now, the Jazz have publicly maintained that their main focus is on helping Exum recover, with general manager Dennis Lindsey saying, via The Salt Lake Tribune
“First and foremost, our overriding concern is with Dante and his long-term health.”
However, with Trey Burke as the only realistic option to fill the void left by Exum on the Jazz roster, Utah may be looking to find potential point guards to fill in for a year until Exum can return. Earlier reports have suggested Garrett Temple of the Washington Wizards as a possibility. That certainly makes sense as Temple is in the last year of a minimum deal and the Wizards have a logjam in their backcourt.
Utah can also look to trade with teams who are keen on clearing cap space or dropping below the luxury tax threshold. Zach Lowe of Grantland wrote about several possibilities including Mario Chalmers of the Heat (expiring $4.3 million deal) and D.J. Augustin of the Thunder (expiring $3 million deal.) Utah could also look at a number of young point guards who are backed out of rotations such as Tyler Ennis of the Bucks. Other possibilities include Shelvin Mack and Devin Harris, although their longer contracts (two and three years, respectively) make them very unlikely targets for Utah.
What is clear is that the Jazz will not be looking to add long, expensive contracts to possibly make the playoffs as a seventh or eighth seed. They have been patient with their rebuild since trading Deron Williams and moving on from Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson. With an extremely young team poised to eventually break through, the Jazz can sacrifice one season in order to maintain future flexibility and assets. Nevertheless, if they are keen on making the playoffs this year – which they have a legitimate chance of doing – they may want to explore some trade options with Chalmers and Augustin standing out as the best candidates.
