Jazz Actively Exploring Trade Options

They may not be linked to any big-name trade candidates as Thursday's trade deadline approaches, but that doesn't mean the Jazz won't be active this week. GM Kevin O'Connor tells Jody Genessy of the Deseret News that he is "actively looking" at the team's trade options, with a focus on long-term gain.

"In the job that I have, one of the responsibilities is to improve the team," O'Connor said. "Now you can't improve the team without looking to make trades, and that's what we do. There's 29 other guys that have the same responsibilities to their teams, and they do the same thing. There's a lot of conversations."

While the Utah GM acknowledges that he's being aggressive in pursuing deals that could improve the team's long-term future, he said he doesn't want specific details on those talks becoming public.

"I hope the one thing that we do do is we don't get names out or possible scenarios out or anything else out," O'Connor said. "Because I think it hurts players."

Reports to date have suggested Derrick Favors, Devin Harris and C.J. Miles could be available, and there has been some speculation that Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap could be had at the right price as well. And while the Lakers' trade exception for Lamar Odom has received exponentially more attention, the Jazz have a large traded player exception of their own — the $10.89MM exception they received when they dealt Mehmet Okur to the Nets won't expire until December.

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