Jordan Clarkson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz, Suns, Pistons Among Possible Miles Bridges Suitors

January 26th, 2024 at 11:20am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz, Suns, and Pistons are among the teams that have called the Hornets to inquire on forward Miles Bridges, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Bridges, 25, is considered a potential trade candidate for a Hornets team that appears lottery-bound and already moved one key player (Terry Rozier) this week in exchange for a first-round pick. Bridges has been productive in his return to the court this season, averaging 20.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 37.0 minutes per game across 31 appearances, with a shooting line of .455/.355/.866.

However, Bridges’ trade value is complicated by a couple factors. One is his contract situation. Having accepted his qualifying offer as a restricted free agent last summer, Bridges will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. He also has the ability to veto a trade and would lose his Bird rights if he’s dealt this season, which could affect what a team is willing to give up to acquire him.

The other factor limiting Bridges’ trade value is his legal situation off the court. The Hornets forward sat out the entire 2022/23 season following accusations of domestic violence and has faced new allegations following the resolution of that case. While the former Michigan State star would be an ideal fit on the court for many teams seeking another wing or forward with size, there may be teams unwilling to pursue him due to the off-court allegations.

According to Fischer, the Jazz are viewed as both a buyer and seller at this season’s trade deadline. While players like Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton, and Talen Horton-Tucker are considered available, Utah is also keeping an eye out for possible additions who could help the team win now. One item on the Jazz’s wish list is a veteran who could handle point guard duties while rookie Keyonte George continues to learn the ropes. Hawks guard Dejounte Murray is one player Utah has expressed interest in, says Fischer.

The Suns’ interest in Bridges was reported earlier this week and has since been confirmed by Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Unlike Utah and Detroit, Phoenix isn’t in position to open up cap room this summer to potentially re-sign Bridges and would likely have to view him as a rental. However, if the cost is modest enough due to Bridges’ expiring contract and legal issues – perhaps Nassir Little and a couple second-round picks – the Suns would still be interested.

According to Fischer, the Suns are eyeing potential rotation players at various positions who could be acquired using Little as the primary outgoing salary-matching piece. That group includes guards Delon Wright and Monte Morris, forwards Jae’Sean Tate and Royce O’Neale, and center Nick Richards.

As for the Pistons, they project to have significant cap room this summer and appear to be attempting to get a head-start on free agency by acquiring a player to whom they could dedicate a chunk of that room. They were linked to Pascal Siakam before he was sent to Indiana and have reportedly discussed Zach LaVine as well.

In his latest Substack article, Marc Stein says that those talks with the Bulls about LaVine have “by no means gone dormant,” noting that the Pistons maintain interest in the two-time All-Star.

Knicks Notes: Brunson, Achiuwa, Hartenstein, Trade Rumors

January 21st, 2024 at 8:35am CST by Luke Adams

There were good vibes in Madison Square Garden on Saturday, as Knicks fans gave Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett a warm welcome in their return to New York as Raptors, then watched stars Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle lead the home team to a dominant 126-100 victory. After the game, Brunson and Randle both spoke about how much they enjoyed playing with Quickley and Barrett, who said they appreciated the reception they received from Knicks fans.

“Love those two. Being teammates with them the past couple of years has been special,” Brunson said of Barrett and Quickley, per Peter Botte of The New York Post. “Great character dudes. They both work really hard. Everything you want in a franchise player. Toronto has a couple good dudes over there. I wish them nothing but the best.”

“Those guys are special talents,” Randle added, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “It’s a special relationship I’ve built with them. I know they talk about how much I meant to them, but they mean a lot to me, to be honest. Talking about leadership, how I carry myself, how to be open, how to be honest, how to be motivated — those are things I didn’t necessarily have coming in vocally. I always wanted to lead by example, just play hard every night. But those guys with me brought a different side out of me. … The relationship that I have with them is extremely special.”

While Quickley and Barrett are missed by their former teammates, Saturday’s game was a reminder of why trading them was the right move, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. As Bondy notes, OG Anunoby continues to show he’s a perfect fit alongside the Knicks’ ball-dominant players, who have been on a tear this month.

Following a 38-point showing on Saturday, Brunson has now averaged 28.9 points and 8.4 assists per game since the arrival of Anunoby, who in turn has been an NBA-best +190 during his time on the court as a Knick. Randle had a triple-double in Saturday’s victory and has put up 25.6 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 5.1 APG since Anunoby’s debut.

Here’s more out of New York:

While Anunoby continues to be lauded by his play for the Knicks – including by super-fan Spike Lee, as Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca details – another former Raptor had a big night vs. his former team on Saturday. Precious Achiuwa established new season highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes of action, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post.
Achiuwa was playing an increased role due to the fact that starting center Isaiah Hartenstein left the game in the third quarter with an ankle issue. According to Bondy (Twitter link), head coach Tom Thibodeau called it as a sprain, though the team later referred to it as just “sore.” Whether or not Hartenstein has to miss time as a result of the injury, Bondy expects Jericho Sims to see more playing time. Sims logged three minutes on Saturday after sitting out the past five games.
Discussing some of the potential trade targets who have been linked to the Knicks, Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter video link) says the Jazz‘s asking price for Jordan Clarkson is very high and that he hasn’t heard anything to suggest that the Knicks and Trail Blazers have had serious talks about Malcolm Brogdon.
On the other hand, Begley keeps hearing “again and again” that New York has strong interest in Raptors guard Bruce Brown. Asked on Saturday about those rumors, as well as the belief that Thibodeau is a fan of his play, Brown said he has “nothing but respect” for the Knicks’ head coach and can do “just about whatever [Thibodeau] needs me to do,” per Schwartz. “I play extremely hard,” he said. “I would think [I’m] the type of player that he likes.”

Stein’s Latest: Raptors, Siakam Trade, Brown, Knicks Targets, More

January 18th, 2024 at 5:40pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Raptors don’t regret not moving Fred VanVleet last trade deadline before he departed that summer in free agency, Marc Stein details in his latest Substack post. Raptors president Masai Ujiri conveyed a similar sentiment earlier on Thursday. As Stein writes, the offers for VanVleet were lackluster and Toronto brass preferred to give the core of Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes and VanVleet one more shot at it, adding Jakob Poeltl to the equation.

Stein suggests that the Raptors could have traded VanVleet to the Clippers last year in exchange for Luke Kennard and modest draft capital, but instead opted to run it back with their team. However, VanVleet leaving Toronto in the offseason for Houston had an impact on their willingness to trade Siakam and Anunoby this season, according to Stein.

Though there’s an outside perception the Raptors could have gotten more for Siakam had they traded him earlier, Toronto is pleased with the package it received from the Pacers, according to Stein. As Stein explains, the Hawks offered De’Andre Hunter, AJ Griffin and a first-round pick over the summer, but the Raptors feel Indiana’s offer was better, even without Bennedict Mathurin, Jarace Walker, Andrew Nembhard or Jalen Smith, all of whom Toronto coveted. I recommend checking out the article in full if you are subscribed to Stein’s Substack page.

There are more notes from Marc Stein:

There’s a growing belief leaguewide that the Raptors will move recently acquired Bruce Brown in another trade. The Knicks have Evan Fournier‘s $18.9MM salary to help match Brown’s $22MM, Stein observes. An earlier report Thursday indicated Quentin Grimes ($2.4MM in 2023/24) was on the trade block, so perhaps the Knicks kick the tires on packaging Fournier and Grimes together for Brown. We wrote more on New York’s interest in Brown here. The Nuggets would undoubtedly be interested in Brown after he helped lift the franchise to their first NBA title in 2022/23, but they lack feasible ways of acquiring him, Stein adds.
Stein expresses skepticism that Brown is the type of scoring guard New York wants to bring in after moving away from Immanuel Quickley. The Knicks have “a level of interest” in Utah’s Jordan Clarkson, Charlotte’s Terry Rozier, Detroit’s Alec Burks and Portland’s Malcolm Brogdon, he adds.
Rival teams hold the belief that Siakam is a “lock” to re-sign with the Pacers after his current contract expires this summer, Stein writes. The Pacers can only offer Siakam a two-year, $81.5MM extension during the season, but they acquired his Bird rights in the trade, which was a motivating factor in getting him now. Acquiring Siakam’s Bird rights allows the Pacers to go over the salary cap to keep him giving them increased flexibility this summer.
After Siakam was traded, attention on the trade market turned to the Hawks‘ Dejounte Murray, according to Stein, who says the going price for Murray starts at two first-round picks. We took a look earlier today at Murray’s market.

Stein’s Latest: Rockets, Barnes, O’Neale, Hunter, Bogdanovic, Jazz, Murray

January 16th, 2024 at 6:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets are pursuing frontcourt options to give Most Improved Player Award candidate Alperen Şengün some help, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post. They’re danging Victor Oladipo‘s expiring $9.5MM deal and Jock Landale‘s contract, which isn’t guaranteed beyond this season, as enticements. Houston is also seeking another shooter and has shown interest in the Kings’ Harrison Barnes, according to Stein.

Here are more tidbits from Stein’s story:

Barnes could be on the move, despite signing a three-year, $54MM extension last offseason. However, the Kings would prefer to get an impact player using Barnes as part of the package. They’ve had discussions with the Raptors regarding a potential Pascal Siakam deal. The Kings have also made Kevin Huerter and Davion Mitchell available but have no interest in dealing second-year forward Keegan Murray.
Stein suggested a couple of days ago that the Cavaliers might pursue Royce O’Neale to fill their 3-and-D need. He now hears that the Nets forward is indeed on Cleveland’s list of targets. The Hawks’ De’Andre Hunter could also be a target to watch for Cleveland, but his contract — he’s in the first year of a four-year, $90MM extension — would make the Cavs’ future cap issues more challenging. O’Neale will be a free agent after the season.
The Pistons had some exploratory discussions with a number of teams regarding swingman Bojan Bogdanović. However, it’s not a certainty they’ll deal him, says Stein. They may want to keep him around to help avoid setting the NBA record for the worst all-time season record, currently held by Sixers (9-73).
The Jazz’s surge up the Western Conference standings has made it tougher to predict what their front office will do in the coming weeks. Kelly Olynyk and Jordan Clarkson are the veterans most frequently mentioned as potential trade pieces but the chatter regarding John Collins has died down since he became the team’s starting center, according to Stein. Top exec Danny Ainge will still likely listen to trade pitches for virtually any player on the roster.
Dejounte Murray‘s list of potential suitors includes the Spurs, Lakers, Nets, Knicks and Pistons, Stein reports. The Hawks, as previously noted, are looking to replenish their draft assets after they gave up three first-round picks (two of their own) and a pick swap to acquire him from San Antonio in 2022.

Northwest Notes: Sexton, Clarkson, Jazz, Thunder, Sharpe

January 13th, 2024 at 9:47am CST by Tristan Tucker

Collin Sexton has started the past 17 games for the Jazz, with the team going 13-4 in those contests and completely turning around their season, writes The Salt Lake Tribune’s Andy Larsen. Sexton — who was once viewed as an available trade piece — is among the league’s top per-possession scorers and is averaging 28.1 points per 36 minutes over the past 30 days, sixth in the NBA.

“Collin’s been playing really well, at a high level. He’s really picking his spots, when to attack, when to facilitate, and when to slow down and when to use his speed,” teammate Lauri Markkanen said. “I think he’s playing a really high level right now and we need him to keep it up.”

Larsen observes Sexton’s made changes to his game, including the pace at which he plays and improving his efficiency.

“Collin’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever been around. He gets incredibly low to the floor when he drives, he’s very strong, very explosive, and he’s able to play through contact,” head coach Will Hardy said. “We know can get in the paint at will — maybe not every time, but most times he can get into paint, and his decision making has really improved in those spots.”

Sarah Todd of The Deseret News explores a similar topic, writing that Jordan Clarkson has also helped turn Utah’s fortunes around in recent weeks. Since returning from a hamstring injury, Clarkson is averaging 19.8 points and a career-best 5.9 assists in 11 games while breaking the Jazz’s 15-year triple-double drought in early January.

“It’s been feeling really great, to be honest,” Clarkson said. “I think in the beginning of the year it was just tough. I think we were all trying to figure out each other. … Early in the season it’s hard to put a label on the team. Just credit to the coaching staff and all of us for sticking with it and coming out here and putting a good product out.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Part of Sexton and Clarkson’s success comes from Hardy’s adjustments to the Jazz‘s rotation, Larsen writes in a separate piece. Every rotation player has more defined roles than they did at the beginning of the year, leading to guys like Kris Dunn and Simone Fontecchio improving in starting spots. Larsen also writes the bench unit has improved as a result of the progress made by, and changes to, the starting lineup, with the five-man bench lineup of Keyonte George, Clarkson, Ochai Agbaji, Kelly Olynyk and Walker Kessler outscoring opponents by 24 points per possession.
Tony Jones of The Athletic says that the Jazz‘s players have bought into the team’s changes. “We’ve just mixed and matched and put ingredients into the soup and kind of figured out what’s worked and what hasn’t worked,” Olynyk said. “We’re at the point where guys know their roles, and they are trying to be stars in their roles, and it’s all just working right now.“
The Thunder are way ahead of their rebuilding timeline and are among the league’s top contenders, The Athletic’s John Hollinger notes. It’s an impressive feat alone, but becomes even more fascinating when considering many of the Thunder’s top guys have come from their own draft picks, like Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace, and not the draft picks obtained from dismantling the Paul George–Russell Westbrook core. Of course, as Hollinger acknowledges, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has become one of the NBA’s best players since being obtained in the George trade, while Jalen Williams was drafted using a Clippers pick. Hollinger argues the Thunder should look to move some of their non-rotation young guys and big contracts for a player who can help now, since their contention window has already started and they’ll have big contract decisions on the horizon.
Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe left Thursday’s matchup against the Thunder with a right adductor strain and did not return, according to team PR (Twitter link). Sharpe missed Portland’s Friday game at the Timberwolves due to the injury, The Oregonian’s Aaron J. Fentress tweets.

Northwest Notes: McLaughlin, Olynyk, Jazz, Thunder

January 4th, 2024 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Jordan McLaughlin hasn’t seen much playing time this season for the Timberwolves, but he made an instant impact in his 12 minutes on Monday in New York, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune, and logged a season-high 17 minutes on Wednesday vs. New Orleans.

Minnesota lost both games, but McLaughlin was a plus-18 in his 29 minutes of action and appears on track to securing a more consistent role in head coach Chris Finch‘s regular rotation, according to Hine.

“Every single time he’s come in and had a super positive impact,” Finch said after the loss to the Knicks. “… We still believe that position (the ninth man) could be situational, but if somebody comes and takes it, then somebody comes and takes it and it looks like J-Mac is on his way to doing that right now.”

As Hine writes, McLaughlin was limited last season due to a calf injury, and a knee issue affected him for several weeks earlier in 2023/24, but he looks like he’s back in form as of late. The 27-year-old is in the final season of a three-year contract with the Wolves and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t sign an extension before then.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Big man Kelly Olynyk has had the most “robust” trade market so far of the Jazz players presumed to be available, Ben Anderson of KSL Sports says in a mailbag. That doesn’t necessarily mean that an Olynyk trade would result in the most significant return — it’s more likely that his skill set (and expiring contract) appeals to the widest range of teams.
After searching for an optimal rotation for much of the season, the Jazz seem to have found it lately, notes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Since Kris Dunn entered the lineup as the starting point guard on December 21, Utah has won six of seven games. A starter earlier in the season, Jordan Clarkson has been thriving in a bench role, recording the Jazz’s first triple-double in 16 years on Monday.
In a pair of stories on the ascendant Thunder, Zach Kram of The Ringer takes a look at how impactful Chet Holmgren has been in his first 33 NBA games, while Anthony Slater of The Athletic explores how the team has taken advantage of its versatility and been “open-minded and experimental” in building a top-five offense.
Despite the Thunder‘s impressive 23-10 start this season, which includes recent wins over top teams like Boston, Denver, and Minnesota, the young team’s stars aren’t interested in discussing where they fit among the NBA’s contenders, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “We know we have a long ways to go,” Holmgren said after the victory over the Celtics on Tuesday. “We’re at 32 games into the season, so we still have 50 games left. We got a lot of lessons to learn, a lot of lessons we’ve already learned from that we’ve got to kind of keep in the back of our mind.”

Northwest Notes: Clarkson, Blazers, Billups, K. Johnson

December 24th, 2023 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson was on a minutes restriction Saturday night, but that was quickly forgotten when he started his fourth-quarter scoring binge, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. Utah had planned to be careful with Clarkson, who had missed nine of the previous 11 games with a thigh contusion, but coach Will Hardy left him on the court as he helped seal a victory at Toronto.

“On a little bit of a minutes restriction, which I disobeyed, he came off the bench and he brought great energy,” Hardy said. “It didn’t feel like he’d been gone for a while with the way that he was playing.”

Clarkson wound up playing 30 minutes and scoring 30 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter as Utah erased a 17-point deficit. He played alongside Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, Ochai Agbaji and Kris Dunn, and Hardy was reluctant to change that lineup while the team was playing so well.

“We had a couple of guys who played like 19 or 18 straight minutes,” Hardy said. “That was just because I felt like that group had a great rhythm. They had good energy. That’s a moment where, as the coach, you’re trying to stay out of the way and not ruin a good thing, so credit to the team. They’ll get to enjoy the next two days with their families.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Coach Chauncey Billups blames the lack of an “alpha” player for the Trail Blazers’ slow starts, according to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Bad first quarters have been a constant problem for Portland, even in a winnable game against Washington this week in which the Blazers shot 1-of-7 on three-pointers and committed five turnovers in the opening 12 minutes, leading to a 33-24 deficit that they weren’t able to overcome. “We’ve got some good players and some guys that are going to be All-Stars in this league,” Billups said. “But right now, we don’t have that dude that you can just throw it to and he can just kind of get us going for the first four or five minutes of the game. We just don’t have that. So we’ve got to do it collectively.”
Billups was honored to be among the nominees for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this week, per Ryan Clarke of The Oregonian. Billups was a six-time All-Star during his playing career and was named NBA Finals MVP in 2004. “That’s the holy grail. That’s it right there,” he said. “Being mentioned in that class is incredible for me. I dreamed about a lot of things in my life and in my career, but I didn’t dream that big.”
The Thunder are hoping Keyontae Johnson can become their next G League success story, Rylan Stiles writes for Thunderous Intentions. The 50th pick in this year’s draft signed a two-way contract and will spend most of the season with Oklahoma City Blue.

Jazz Notes: Hendricks, Markkanen, Samanic, Injuries

December 23rd, 2023 at 8:25am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Jazz have been patiently developing their No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 draft, Taylor Hendricks, which resulted in a slow start to his career — he only played in one game prior to Dec. 2. However, Hendricks has seen playing time in nine of Utah’s last 10 games, averaging 6.3 points per night.

Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (subscriber link) spoke to the 20-year-old rookie, whose role has grown due to injuries to Utah’s rotation and his own development through time in the G League.

“It was kind of up and down,” Hendricks said of the start to his career. “I’ll just start from the beginning. Obviously, starting with the injury, kind of being behind, and then starting the season off in the G League — that was pretty hard for me mentally. That first week, it was tough; I was trying to tell myself, ‘This is for the best.’ Once I figured it out, that I can use this to my advantage, everything started to work in my favor.

“When I got called up, then I was ready because of the mindset I had when I was in the G League. I’m still trying to get better, still trying to improve. I’m not perfect.“

Walden speaks to Hendricks about a myriad of topics, including learning Utah’s system, improving both offensively and defensively, and what aspect of his game he’d like to work on most.

“The best thing you can feel is you can help a team win,” Hendricks said. “I feel that I do that, I help this team win. That’s all you can ask for.”

We have more from the Jazz:

Recent rumors indicated that opposing teams have been monitoring what it would take to acquire Jazz star Lauri Markkanen. Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Subscriber link) reviews the situation and confirms that Markkanen would like to stay with Utah. Larsen also writes that the Jazz have a star player, coaching staff and front office in alignment on a competitive timeline, which is rare and should be savored. “He knows what I believe in. He believes in the same things,” head coach Will Hardy said. “We’re really in lockstep in this whole thing — we both want the same thing for the Utah Jazz.“
Forward Luka Samanic hasn’t played much for the Jazz this season, appearing in just 13 games. However, he found a way to make an impact in the second half of Utah’s win over the Pistons on Thursday night, drawing unprompted praise from Hardy, who specifically singled him out for staying ready and making the most of his opportunity, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News writes. “His impact on the game was much bigger than his stat line,” Hardy said. “To give us 10 really good minutes in the second half, in an important part of the game, after not playing meaningful minutes for a long time, I think speaks to him and his growth as a young pro.” The 23-year-old forward was the 19th pick in the 2019 draft by the Spurs but bounced around after that before landing with the Jazz. His deal is currently partially guaranteed for $600K, but becomes fully guaranteed for roughly $2.1MM if he’s on the roster beyond January 7.
Keyonte George remains out for the Jazz, but Jordan Clarkson and Talen Horton-Tucker are both questionable for Utah’s Saturday night game against the Raptors, Larsen tweets. Clarkson hasn’t played since Dec. 11, while Horton-Tucker missed his first game of the season Thursday against Detroit.

Trade Rumors: Mitchell, Grant, Hawks, Clarkson

December 19th, 2023 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

There’s no indication that the Cavaliers are considering trading Donovan Mitchell, and the star guard shut down that topic of conversation following injuries to teammates Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. However, in an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Kevin Pelton argues that it’s something the team should think about, given that Cleveland doesn’t appear to be a legitimate title contender in the short term and Mitchell can become a free agent in 2025.

As Pelton writes, if the Cavaliers aren’t confident in their ability to extend Mitchell beyond his current deal, they could maximize his value on the trade market by moving him sooner rather than later, potentially getting back pieces that could complement Garland and Mobley as they enter their respective primes.

It seems unlikely that the Cavs will heed Pelton’s advice and make Mitchell available in advance of this season’s trade deadline. But if the four-time All-Star eventually ends up on the trade block, the Knicks, Nets, Heat, and “at least two other” Southwest teams would be among the potential suitors to watch, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on his latest Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to NetsDaily).

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

Ever since Damian Lillard requested a trade out of Portland, forward Jerami Grant has been viewed as a logical trade candidate, given that he seems to be on a different timeline than the rebuilding Trail Blazers. However, Danny Marang of 1080 The Fan in Portland (Twitter link) says he continues to hear the team has “zero interest” in moving Grant and is happy with the role he’s playing on the current roster.
Teams around the NBA are keeping an eye on the Hawks to see if they’ll become a trade deadline seller, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack story. Atlanta was at the center of several offseason trade rumors – many of which involved Clint Capela and/or De’Andre Hunter – but didn’t end up doing anything too significant and is off to an underwhelming (11-15) start this fall.
Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (video link) confirms that Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson is considered available via trade, as previous reports have suggested. Clarkson likes playing in Utah and isn’t seeking an exit, Haynes notes, but multiple contenders have inquired about him.

Jazz Notes: Trade Candidates, Markkanen, George, Hendricks

December 15th, 2023 at 9:03am CST by Luke Adams

There will likely be no shortage of Jazz veterans available on the trade market this season. Following up on reporting from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, Marc Stein confirms in his latest Substack story that guards Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton and big man Kelly Olynyk are cited frequently by rival executives as players Utah is thought to be willing to move.

According to Stein, there’s also “palpable” curiosity from some teams about the Jazz’s long-term plans for Lauri Markkanen, the franchise’s top scorer and lone 2023 All-Star.

As Stein notes, Larsen wrote this week that Markkanen is at the top of the list of players the Jazz want to keep, so the odds that the Finnish forward will be involved in a midseason trade seem low. However, Stein says there’s a “rising belief” that there will be a club or two willing to “test Utah’s resolve” by making a play for Markkanen.

Here’s more on the Jazz:

Utah got good news on rookie Keyonte George, who injured his left foot during the team’s win over New York on Wednesday. As Larsen relays (via Twitter), the Jazz announced on Thursday that an MRI showed George avoided significant damage. The first-year guard missed Thursday’s game in Portland and will remain sidelined for Saturday’s contest in Sacramento before being reevaluated when the club returns home.
After making a brief appearance in Utah’s season opener and then not playing at all in the next 18 games, lottery pick Taylor Hendricks has been getting a longer look as of late, averaging 20.9 minutes per night in the team’s past six games. The early returns have been up and down, but Hendricks was a plus-25 in Wednesday’s victory and recorded 10 points and seven rebounds in Thursday’s win, earning praise for his effort, especially on defense. “He’s playing really hard. He’s still learning the detail part of it all,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said before Thursday’s game, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. “… His activity is great. All I’m asking of Taylor right now is that he just plays as hard as he can. Because he has an ability to block in transition, gets his hand on a couple of passes with his length — his athleticism really shows up.”
It’s too early to tell whether Utah’s consecutive wins this week are a blip on the radar or the start of the Jazz turning a corner on their season, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Still, as Jones details, there have been some positive signs, including good ball movement, quality defense from Hendricks and Walker Kessler, and some of Sexton’s best scoring nights of the fall.