JAZZ END PORZINGIS ERA WITH SWAP FOR TANTALIZING TRIO
Donovan Mitchell and Joel Embid will look to catapult the Utah Jazz into that escaping upper echelon in the West.
Donovan Mitchell and Joel Embid will look to catapult the Utah Jazz into that escaping upper echelon in the West.
The Athletic – There have been rumblings that, despite a hot start out of the gate, Utah was looking to shake things up and move on from their superstar big man Kristaps Porzingis. In the late hours of the evening it has been made official – the era of the Lithuanian Unicorn in a Jazz uniform has ended.
“This was a difficult but easy decision for the organization,” added a source close to the front office. “Ocons was growing tired and complacent with the make-up of the team and was quite unhappy with the impact Porzingis was having, or not having, in the new system. Not everything shows up on paper, of course, but it was clear he was not the same player. With that, the team opened up the phones and it got pretty serious with Orlando pretty quickly.”
As with any other trade negotiation with the Utah front office, nothing was specifically targeted when looking to move Kristaps. Traditionally, the team does not have the patience to rebuild and start from scratch with picks and young prospects – some sort of middle ground was the ideal space. In Orlando, they were able to find a top big man, a dynamic young wing and another up and coming strong floor general in Joel Embid, Donovan Mitchell and Devonte Graham.
There’s no secret that Embid is a strong post presence that will help Utah avoid skipping a beat. Mitchell, the true target of the move, is on the verge of a breakout on both ends of the floor. Needing a point guard made the emergence of Graham all that much more appealing as well. Between the three, Utah will be adding 50 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and a handful of blocks and steals immediately into the starting lineup.
“Naturally, the numbers from Orlando are not going to translate exactly to their new team. Different philosophies and surrounding players will impact that. However, Utah can now say they have one of the deepest lineups in the league. Porzingis is irreplaceable but Embid will no doubt hold his own in his stead.”
Alongside the new trio, Utah will have Daniel Hamilton and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist rounding out the starting lineup and push two very capable starters in Hamidou Diallo and Josh Jackson to light a spark off the bench. Combine that with Georgios Papagiannis, Joe Jackson and Dario Saric. . . there’s a first and second team that can compete with anyone on any given night out.
Could they have gotten more, possibly? Was far worse offered, yes. Does Utah give any fucks, no
