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Coming off a blowout win against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, the Utah Jazz sit second in the Western Conference on the back of 8 straight wins. Having started the season sluggishly, the Jazz are now in full swing and are the only team in the NBA to be ranked in the top 5 for both offensive and defensive efficiency.
After giving up a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets, the Utah Jazz front office put immense faith in their stars ahead of this season, believing that they would return to make up for the disappointment of last year's first-round playoff exit. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert received huge contracts and are, so far, repaying the trust and responsibility placed on their shoulders.
Now sitting on a 12-4 record after a month, the Jazz can start to consider themselves outside contenders to finish among the top 3 spots in the West. To do so, they may look to add a third star who can bring in additional scoring talent.
In this article, we have identified one current player who has begun the season as strongly individually as the Utah Jazz have collectively.
1 player that can take the Utah Jazz to the next level this postseason
Looking ahead at the trade deadline, the Utah Jazz may seek to bolster their frontcourt talent by bringing in Chicago Bulls' standout forward Zach LaVine.
The context of any such deal would likely have to include the Jazz parting ways with their 2022 and '26 first-round picks alongside either Bojan Bogdanovic or Mike Conley Jr. Although both have started the season strong, the payoff for the Utah Jazz may just be worth it.
Bringing in Zach LaVine makes a lot of sense for the Utah Jazz who have emerged as the favorites to finish with home-court advantage in the West. They have two stars already, in Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, both under 30 and who are continuing to improve. LaVine, at 25, would add to the Jazz's promise not only for this year's playoffs but also for the future.
LaVine is currently averaging career-highs in points (26.8), assists (5.4) and rebounds (5.2), including a 45-7-7 performance against the LA Clippers. He has caught the attention of team's across the league as the Bulls standout performer, having improved across all aspects of his game.
LaVine is shooting a higher effective field-goal percentage and has had a higher success rate from the free-throw line.
Bringing in LaVine would be an automatic upgrade for the Utah Jazz on Bojan Bogdanovic or Mike Conley across all optics on offense. The Bulls forward has also made improvements on the defensive end of the floor, slowly becoming a more rounded 2-way player.
The Utah Jazz would have to make do going smaller at times if Bogdanovic were to be traded. However, with Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert in the frontcourt, they could afford to do so.
LaVine would give the Jazz one of the fiercest offensive trios in the league and would partner perfectly with Donovan Mitchell's dynamic athleticism on the fast break.
Though a trade would be made reluctantly by the Chicago Bulls, a move for Zach LaVine could prove to be another way to bring in additional future talent to the franchise. Even if the Bulls were to steal a playoff spot, they would likely be swept by a superior Philadelphia, Milwaukee or Brooklyn outfit with greater talent across the board.
With the array of young talent the Bulls currently have, as well as the $26m of projected cap space they can use this offseason, they may be just a few seasons away from putting together a side worthy of challenging in the East.
Getting a veteran such as Bogdanovic as well as the Utah Jazz's future picks would only continue the Chicago Bulls' current development.
Guess the Lakers players!
