If I may be so bold, it appears that you are firmly in the Don camp. So I’d like to ask what is your dream off-season (keeping reasonable expectations that other people have to accept whatever trade you may propose)?
I’m just having a hard time seeing a world where the Jazz don’t get significantly worse if we get rid of Rudy.
Thank you for asking. I'm in the Don camp, for now... So as for what I would do, this is it:
Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley to Atlanta
I'm not 100% sure what we get from them. It starts with Collins and Capela, but they have a number of other assets to add to those two:
Huerter
Bogdan Bogdanovic
Jalen Johnson
Okongwu
Atlanta 2022 1st #16
Charlotte 2023 1st (lottery protected)
other future 1sts and/or 2nds
We should probably get one or two of the above to go along with Capela and Collins.
Why for Atlanta - they want to be more relevant, and their defense is holding them back. Rudy is a bold move for a team that seems to have all the other pieces in place (Trae, Huerter, Gallinari and Hunter), but Rudy could potentially take them places. Conley gives them a veteran presence off the bench for that young squad.
Why for Utah - we clearly need a change. Rudy is a good player at his peak value, and we need to trade him now to get that value. On the flip side, Conley has poor value and we get to move on from that failed project. This trade makes us younger and deeper. We don't give away the chance at trading Don for good value later if we need to, but we at least try something different before we do. Youth, athleticism, scheme and rotation flexibility become the goal. I'm not a massive fan of Capela, but he could play a good 20-24 mpg while Collins plays the other C minutes.