There’s little doubt his performance has influenced the recent trade rumors! It’s no surprise that the Utah Jazz are considered sellers this trade season. Currently, they are experiencing hard-fought loss after hard-fought loss, thus even although they are losing a lot, they are going down fighting, but they are also increasing the value of their tradeable veterans.
There have been no recent speculations tying Jazz players to other teams. NBA Insider Marc Stein detailed in a December 1 piece which players the Jazz are expected to trade away.
“The leaguewide consensus regarding the Jazz is that Collins, like fellow veterans Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, is a prime candidate to be dealt between now and the Feb. 6 trade deadline by Jazz.
CEO, Danny Ainge.” Now, this information is not new. The Jazz have little long-term need for any of those three players, although Stein did mention how thrilled the Jazz are with Collins’ turnaround in his second season in Utah.
“The Jazz are said to be pleased with Collins’ play and glad that they took his contract on from Atlanta for the very nominal cost of one future second-round pick.”
That might lead to a trade in the near future, which is impressive given Collins’ lack of trade value entering the season. However, there is something more significant to take away from Stein’s assessment, even though he does not mention it immediately.
Walker Kessler wasn’t mentioned.
Stein made no mention of Kessler in his report, which is significant given what happened over the summer. Kessler was involved in offseason trade rumors, but they never materialized. The fact that he was not mentioned indicates that Kessler has performed well enough to be regarded a part of the Jazz’s future.
So why wouldn’t he? Kessler has been nothing short of incredible this season. His supporters argued that many players who explode onto the scene in their rookie year naturally go back to earth in their second season, thus no one should give up on him coming into his third season. His traditional numbers are exceptional. According to NBA.com, he averages a double-double and shoots over 70% from the field. He also blocks nearly three shots. His presence is also felt on the floor. He’s been outstanding and is still young, so why would the Jazz bother dealing him? Stein’s report suggests that they aren’t. With any hope, and as long as he continues to improve, there will be no more reports of Kessler being available for trade in the 2020s.
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