Credit: Winslow Townson/USA Today Sports
The Utah Jazz is enjoying an explosive summer, but perhaps not in the best ways. The team is being blown up by Danny Ainge, with both their stars being traded in the offseason for massive hauls. As Ainge continues to collect more picks to stock up for a rebuild, the Jazz are not done with their fire-sale, elite role players like Jordan Clarkson, Bojan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley are all available for more first-round picks.
And if there is one team that consistently picks up and thrives on acquiring elite players that know their role, it’s the Miami Heat. During the saga of Donovan Mitchell’s trade, the Heat was mentioned as a strong suitor for the exciting young guard, but a deal could never be found. Mitchell ended up with the Cavaliers in any case, but that doesn’t mean that Miami doesn’t want some of the other pieces the Jazz have.
And while Danny Ainge can be tough to negotiate with, there is value to be had by adding some of Utah’s players. However, it seems there is one thing that is stopping the Jazz themselves from doing business with the Heat,
NBA Rumors Suggest That Duncan Robinson’s Contract Is Stopping The Jazz From Trading With The Heat
Duncan Robinson emerged as an elite sharpshooter when he broke out in the NBA, someone who could fill it up consistently from deep. And his 44% shooting from deep during the Bubble season when Miami made it to the Finals earned him a huge contract. In 2021, his new contract kicked in, which will see him earn $90 million over 5 years, meaning it runs until 2026.
However, Robinson had a very rough playoff performance in the 2021-22 season, getting exposed for his lack of defense and overall playing poorly. This has led to his contract being viewed as a bad one and according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, is the reason the Jazz haven’t traded with Miami.
“Miami has been lurking. But in order to do a trade with Miami, the Jazz would probably have to take back Duncan Robinson, and that’s just a really, really, really bad contract because there’s three years left on it, four years left on it, actually. So that’s just a really tough contract for the Jazz to take back,” Jones said
Ultimately, the Jazz will make whatever moves make sense to them. Bad contracts end up being valuable trade assets eventually, and Utah can afford to wait. Furthermore, Robinson himself could snap out of it and become one of the best shooters in the league again. What will actually happen remains to be seen.
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