Jazz forward Joe Ingles’ injury is, unfortunately, as devastating as feared.
Jazz release:
This will end Ingles’ season and almost certainly sideline him to begin next season.
Ingles was already in trade rumors. Now, Utah has even more reason to deal the 34-year-old’s expiring contract.
He wasn’t as involved offensively and his 3-pointers hadn’t fallen as frequently as last season, when he had a strong case for Sixth Man of the Year and finished second to teammate Jordan Clarkson. Ingles’ defense has also slipped considerably as he ages.
On trade-deadline day (Feb. 10), Ingles will still be due $4,288,401 of his base salary. If the Jazz trade him, their luxury-tax liability would decrease by nearly $26 million. So, Utah could pay a team to cover Ingles’ remaining salary, add a sweetener to make it worth that team’s while and come out way ahead financially.
In fact, if unloading Ingles for no return, the Jazz would be just about $1.7 million over the tax line. At that point, they could dump another player or two and escape the tax completely. That’d entitle them to the share of NBA-wide paid luxury tax distributed to non-taxpaying teams – potentially approaching $10 million (depending what tax-avoidance measures other teams take).
If willing to spend, Utah could instead use Ingles’ $13,036,364 expiring contract to facilitate a trade that brings immediate help. The Jazz (30-21) are a good team at a pivotal time in their run as they attempt to prove their playoff bona fides.
Utah would lose Ingles’ Bird Rights if trading him. He’s well-liked in the locker room and knows Jazz coach Quin Snyder’s system well. But even if dealing him, Utah could still use the taxpayer mid-level exception – which projects to be worth more than $6 million – to sign him this summer.
This injury will really dampen the market for Ingles in free agency.
