Following the hire of Utah Jazz president of basketball operations, Austin Ainge, the woebegone Western Conference franchise now has a new objective. While they should still be considered a rebuild, their tanking stage is over. It’s time for their players, whether they’re green behind the ears or long in the tooth, to focus on winning.
The on-court personnel isn’t the only group who should be putting their foot on the petal either though. If the Jazz are to become a playoff or title-contender, the front office will need to get to work. That means actually pulling the trigger on trades, which they’ve been extremely hesitant to do under Ainge’s father, Jazz CEO Danny Ainge.
Jazz, Mavs Have ‘Discussed’ Collin Sexton Trade
The Jazz’s big men have mainly been attached to one team trade rumors. Just this week, John Collins and Walker Kessler were named as former or current targets for the Los Angeles Lakers, who’ve been looking for an upgrade down low for months. To that point, the idea of Kessler landing in L.A. has been rehashed more than a few times.
Other rumors have not been down such a well-traveled road.
Welp, got aggregated today.
I’ll say this as a point of clarification: while all of the possibilities I mentioned (Sexton to Dallas, LAL interest in Kessler, PHI interest in a pick 3/5 swap) have been discussed, they haven’t gotten into the serious stages to my knowledge.
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) June 18, 2025
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According to Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune, the Jazz have “discussed” a trade that would send starting guard Collin Sexton to the Dallas Mavericks. Though the discussions “haven’t gotten into the serious stages to (his) knowledge,” it’s still major news. Lately, the Mavs have been under fire for trading former face of the franchise Luka Doncic, and are hoping that drafting Duke freshman phenom Cooper Flagg will help unthaw their fan base.
However, they’ve also been looking to address a pressing need.
Replacing Kyrie Irving
After Dallas traded Doncic, the expectation was for backcourt mate Kyrie Irving to sign a lucrative contract extension. As luck (or it’s lack) would have it, Irving sustained a season-ending Achilles injury not long after. By all accounts, Irving still appears set to stay with the Mavericks. Nonetheless, he’ll likely miss the first half of the 2025-26 regular season and still have to work his way back into form after that.
Consequently, Dallas has been trying to find a guard that can start in place of Irving when he’s out. Ideally, that player could even play alongside Irving when he returns. To this point, that’s led to the Mavs being linked to: Boston Celtics defensive anchor Jrue Holiday, Chicago Bulls floor general Lonzo Ball and San Antonio Spurs free agent Chris Paul.
Now, Sexton joins the fray as arguably their best option. As a starter, he averages 20.0 points and 3.9 assists per game for his career.
He’s not as shrewd or reliable defensively as Holiday but he’s nine years younger, capable of growing alongside Flagg. He’s not as savvy as Paul but he’s 14 years his junior, apparent in his agility and activity level. Ball has a higher basketball IQ and better feel than him, but Sexton’s far more potent and durable.
As far who the Jazz could trade Sexton for? Perhaps PJ Washington, who could see a much reduced role after Dallas captures Flagg. Whether or not he starts, the combo forward complements Utah’s frontcourt group well.
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