The NBA trade deadline came and went, and the Utah Jazz barely participated. Granted, they made a single deal, sending an injured Joe Ingles to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Juancho Hernangomez.
It was a slightly confusing turn of events. There was widespread speculation that the Jazz should be in the market for a 3-and-D wing. Neither of the players they acquitted fit that description.
Utah Jazz fail to shore up defense
As it stands, the team’s 110.48 Defensive Rating ranks 12th in the NBA. That’s almost impressively low for a squad that features Rudy Gobert in the middle, with Hassan Whiteside backing him up.
It speaks to the caliber of perimeter defenders on this team. As we’ve said countless times: Royce O’Neale can’t do it alone. Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell are all high-end offensive players, but none are plus defenders.
One may have expected the Jazz to pair Ingles’ (now) dead money with either a pick or…
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