Bulls Trade Fits: Niko To Utah?

The trade deadline is just two weeks away, and Nikola Mirotic is still a Bull. Odds are that will change, but what teams, if any, are willing to meet the Bulls asking price? According to Cody Westerlund of CBS Chicago, the Bulls "remain dead set" on acquiring a first round pick for Mirotic. One team that Westerlund frequently mentions in his piece is the Utah Jazz.

"The Jazz emerged as a Mirotic suitor about two weeks ago but haven’t been willing to give up a first-round pick yet in a straight-up swap with the Bulls. In trade discussions, Jazz wing Rodney Hood’s name has also surfaced, a source confirmed. He’s averaging 16.7 points on 41.3 percent shooting, primarily coming off the bench."

Hood is under team control through the end of next season, and while he's just a restricted free agent in 2019, the Bulls don't seem likely to unload Mirotic for a player that has less than two years of cheap team control left. Also, part of the urgency to trade Mirotic now is to make the roster worse, so that the Bulls can remain in the bottom 10 in the standings and potentially sink to the bottom 5. Trading Mirotic for a player with nearly identical offensive numbers won't help the Bulls achieve that goal. That turns our focus to two things: where is Utah likely to be drafting in the first round, and how desperate are they to acquire a player like Mirotic? The answer to both of these questions makes it unlikely that these teams strike a deal. A few weeks ago, Utah was in the thick of the playoff hunt. Now they are 20-28, 4.5 games out of the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. 4.5 games isn't a death sentence, but the Jazz have to finish 22-12 to reach 42 wins, which is likely the number they need to hit to have a shot at the playoffs. Does adding Mirotic really help them reach that mark? Even if he did, is giving up a mid-first round pick for the right to get swept in the first round by Golden State worth it? The only first round pick they have is their own, which won't be higher than 16th or 17th if they make the playoffs, and could be as low as 10th or 11th if they miss the postseason. A team in their situation would be foolish to give up a pick in that range for a year and a half of a player of Mirotic's caliber. The Jazz were maybe the favorites to land Mirotic a month ago, but their recent stretch of poor play and lack of draft assets should prevent them from being buyers this trade deadline.