JUST IN : Jazz Still Have $18 Million To Spend Just To Meet NBA Salary Floor

The Utah Jazz have traded for Russell Westbrook for the second time in 18 months, but have also decided not to keep him.

Both times, it was with a Los Angeles-based team. The Lakers came first, followed by the Clippers. Last time, the Jazz cut Westbrook following a trade with LA, and he ended up in Los Angeles. Only with the other LA. This time, he will join the Denver Nuggets. Who knows where Westbrook will go next time the Jazz deal for him? Anyway, it won’t be in Utah, so Danny Ainge, the Jazz’s head of basketball operations, has some distance to make up. At least he does financially. The Jazz dispatched guard Kris Dunn to the Clippers as part of the trade, and as relayed by Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune, Utah is now about $28 million under the salary cap. That means the Jazz will need to spend at least $18 million to get to the required salary floor, per Larsen. Basically, good luck with all that. But we’re talking about Ainge here, and if we know Ainge, we know another deal (and likely some signings) are on the way. No, it’s not likely to involve franchise face and forward Lauri Markkanen, one of the top five or six players in all the West. By all accounts, the Jazz have at least taken calls, with the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs reportedly in hottest pursuit.

That does not mean the Jazz are interested in moving Markkanen. It simply implies that everyone else is calling to make sure. As for reaching the pay floor, the solution should be straightforward — and it involves Markkanen himself.

“They’ll likely be able to achieve that by extending star forward Lauri Markkanen sometime on or after the Aug. 6 eligibility date,” Larsen pointed out.

So, welcome to Utah, Russell Westbrook. We’ll see you later.