The Utah Jazz Should Have Made the Paul Millsap for Eric Bledsoe Trade

The NBA trade deadline has come and gone, and I (like many) am surprised that the Utah Jazz did not make any moves. On one hand, I understand the Jazz standing pat, as they are in a battle with the Houston Rockets and the charging Los Angeles Lakers for the final playoff spot(s) in the Western Conference, and they need to keep an eye on ways to create space for their tight salary cap situation after this season, but I would have at least pulled the trigger on the (rumored) Paul Millsap for Eric Bledsoe trade.

Going forward, it looks like the Jazz will surely lose one of Millsap and/or Al Jefferson as they are both free-agents at seasons end, and it is very possible that they could lose both players without getting an asset(s) in return. But, that would free up over $20 million in cap space. In that case, the Jazz could still be okay in the post, as they have potential in-house replacements for Millsap and/or Big Al in Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter.

In the west the Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Golden State Warriors are all up-and-coming playoff teams plus of course you have the Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs, and Oklahoma City Thunder as top draws for free-agents so I like the idea of the Jazz freeing up serious cap space in an attempt to lure players by possibly overpaying them to choose Utah over the other top teams in the conference.

For me though, I would have been all over acquiring Bledsoe and if/when the likely does happen (Jazz losing either Millsap or Jefferson or both), I will be watching closely to see who they spend that money on, as it has to be better than the future I think Bledsoe will have. Otherwise, this was a missed trade deadline opportunity for the Jazz.

The worst-case scenario is another playoff loss (Jazz last won a playoff game back in 2010) despite trying to keep their team together, and then they misspend their money in 2013, while Bledsoe continues to develop for someone else. No moves at the deadline was a risk for the Jazz, and we will watch them closely going forward to see if the gamble pays off.

Craig Ballard is a NFL/NBA/MLB writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow  him on Twitter @craigballard77, and you can find all of his articles HERE