NBA Trade Rumors: 5 destinations for Derrick Rose
By Tom West
3. Utah Jazz
The Jazz are included here surrounded by plenty of “maybes” and “what ifs”. They already have point guards on their roster in Trey Burke, Raul Neto, Shelvin Mack (who proved to be a notable trade deadline acquisition) and Dante Exum (a potentially key piece of their franchise if he returns well after his ACL injury). With so many pieces in their backcourt already, why trade for another?
Well, even though Rose’s struggles from three and injury history can’t be avoided, especially for young, talented teams like the Jazz, their 28th ranking in points per game this season encourages them to add someone who can create offense.
And Rose, whether he’s pulling up from mid-range or is able to create penetration, can still do that (albeit at a lesser level). He shot 47.6 percent from 10-16 feet this season, and while he needs to work on his efficiency inside (51 percent within three feet), that can come as he hopefully regains full health and confidence in his athleticism.
When thinking about Rose’ health, the questions about Exum can be serious in their own right. How invested can the Jazz be in a point guard who has only played one season in which he shot a mere 34.9 percent with a 5.7 PER?
Meanwhile, Neto, Mack and Burke are hardly long-term answers as starters and anchors of the franchise.
The Jazz have multiple players with trade value across their roster to entice a Bulls team who seem interested in a semi rebuild, if these trade rumors are true. When bearing in mind Utah’s own point guard situation, a trade for Rose for some potential star powered offense (if his health keeps improving) has some logic to it.
Next: 2. Time for a new point guard in Sacramento?