San Antonio Spurs To Trade Boris Diaw To Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz will acquire fan favorite big man Boris Diaw in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs.

The San Antonio Spurs needed to clear cap space in order to make the money work after Pau Gasol committed to sign with the team. As soon as Gasol committed to the team, the name that popped up as the most likely candidate to be traded was Boris Diaw.

Diaw, 34, is a solid veteran power forward who provides floor spacing, passing, rebounding and even some defense.

In addition to that, he has become known as a strong presence of in the locker room, traits that helped make him very attractive to teams looking for a veteran in exchange for helping the Spurs land Gasol.

As first reported by The Vertical, the Utah Jazz emerged as the landing spot for Diaw. In addition to clearing up cap room for the Spurs to sign Gasol to a two-year deal worth $30 million, the Jazz will also send the rights to Olivier Hanlan to San Antonio.

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Hanlan is a Canadian point guard who spent last year in Europe after being drafted in the second round by the Utah Jazz in 2015.

The Jazz have surplus of point guards and the Spurs have never been shy in accumulating draft-and-stash prospects, so the deal made plenty of sense beyond the aforementioned salary dump.

With the departure of Kevin Durant from the Oklahoma City Thunder, home court in the first round of the playoffs is now up for grabs to many up and coming teams in the Western Conference.

The Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers appear to be at the top of the conference, but beyond that the rest of the West is very much up for grabs.

After just missing the playoffs last season with a 40-42 record, the Utah Jazz appear to be poised to take a leap forward this season. After trading for George Hill and getting Dante Exum back from injury, the Jazz have shored up their point guard rotation.

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Now with the addition of Diaw, Quin Snyder has a veteran presence to help the young Jazz along, as well as a strong, deep rotation.

The Jazz lacked playmaking last season and their offense struggled as a result of this. Diaw was almost the first Draymond Green when he played with the Phoenix Suns. His ability to stretch the floor and create for himself and others has helped his game transition well as he’s aged.

In lineups with Diaw, Hill and Gordon Hayward, the Jazz will have the luxury of having three players that can create for themselves and others and hopefully help their offense catch up to the level of play they had last season on the defensive end of the floor.

Diaw is in the final year of his contract and is owed only $7 million on his deal. It’s a bargain in today’s NBA and the trade for Diaw really appears to be a no-risk move for the Jazz, who get a veteran for cheap that will help them on and off the court.

While the trade helps the Spurs in getting Gasol, it will likely help get the Jazz over the hump, into the playoffs and into the phase of the rebuild where they actually need to worry about what the teams ahead of them are doing.

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It will be a win-win trade; only time will tell if Diaw was the missing piece that the Jazz truly needed.