NBA Trade Deadline: Biggest needs and targets for each West contender

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz finished the first half with the best record in NBA and are the only team that is top five in offense and defense. They have three All-Stars, are the best 3-point shooting team in the league, and a real camaraderie amongst their roster. I don’t think Utah needs any big upgrades, as I think they’re a championship-caliber team right now.

Need: Perimeter defense

The one hole that the Utah Jazz have might be perimeter defense. Royce O’Neale is an amazing defensive stopper, but he can’t guard everyone. Teams like the 76ers and the Clippers have been able to attack Utah offensively with their secondary scorers by hunting after Bojan Bogdanovic, who just can’t guard top-scoring talent wings. Jazz could really use an additional wing defender as a plug-in for 10 minutes a night when such matchups arise.

Solution: Garrett Temple

If the Bulls can’t find a market and decide to buy him out, Garrett Temple would be the best fit for the Utah Jazz. Temple hasn’t been 100% healthy, but when he is he’s one of the better defenders in the game. Temple is a great on-ball stopper, with a Defensive Real Plus Minus (DRPM) of 0.97 (86th percentile in the league)  and creates 3.6 defensive deflections per 36 minutes (88th percentile).

In other words, he’s a stalwart defender. Temple only shoots 35 percent from 3 which isn’t great but would be good enough to put Temple on the floor for defense without losing much on the offensive end.

Garrett Temple isn’t a name that’ll scare other teams, but Utah having another wing defender of his ability would make the Jazz all the more difficult to beat.

Other options: Tony Snell, Otto Porter Jr.