Armed with Joe Ingles’ expiring contract and draft picks, the Jazz were linked to some of the biggest names swirling before the trade deadline.
Utah is dealing Ingles in a three-team trade with the Trail Blazers and Spurs for… Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Juancho Hernangomez.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
The Utah Jazz are acquiring guard Portland’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the Spurs’ Juancho Hernangomez in a three-way deal, sources tell ESPN. The Spurs gets guard Tomas Satoransky and a second-round pick, and the Blazers get Joe Ingles, Elijah Hughes and a second-round pick.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2022
This is a pretty uninspiring return for a team in the thick of championship contention and with additional reason to show urgency.
Alexander-Walker, sent from the Pelicans in the C.J. McCollum trade, only briefly passed passed through Portland. The No. 17 pick in the 2019 draft, Alexander-Walker has shown promise and is just 23. But he has really struggled this season, shooting frequently and inefficiently. Even if the Jazz like him as a second-draft prospect, Alexander-Walker might not be ready to help a win-now team in this year’s playoffs.
The way Alexander-Walker has played lately, he duplicates Jordan Clarkson as a high-volume guard. But Alexander-Walker could get back to playing more of a well-rounded game.
Hernangomez could theoretically help Utah as a stretch four. But that wasn’t really a need with Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gay already there. There are reasons Hernangomez keeps getting traded – from the Timberwolves to the Grizzlies, from the Grizzlies to the Celtics, from the Celtics to the Spurs and now from the Spurs to the Jazz within the last six months – without cracking a regular rotation anywhere.
A significant consideration in the trade: Utah reduces its luxury-tax liability by about $11 million.
Portland offloads Alexander-Walker’s $5,009,633 salary for next season. Ingles and Elijah Hughes (No. 39 pick in 2020) are on expiring contracts. This moves the Trail Blazers’ projected cap space this summer toward $35 million. Plus, they get a second-rounder.
The Spurs probably don’t value Tomas Satoransky. San Antonio just gets a pick for swapping Hernangomez for a more-expensive player (both of whom are on expiring contracts).