Utah Jazz's 2015 Trade Deadline Shopping List

With the 2015 NBA trade deadline approaching, the Utah Jazz have the pieces and flexibility to be either buyers or sellers.

If they choose the former, there are glaring needs to be addressed. Injuries to Alec Burks and Rodney Hood have decimated the team's shooting and wing depth, and Utah has one massive trade chip that could be the remedy.

That said, Utah's in the midst of a rebuild, and any potential moves have to be explored with that in mind. For small-market teams, reaching the pinnacle takes a marathon, not a sprint.

General manager Dennis Lindsey talked about the process with Salt City Hoops' Andy Larsen and Ben Dowsett, saying:

"

We're going to address moves that have the long-term interest of the Utah Jazz. So, I think Quin [Snyder], I really appreciate his mindset. He's been as mindful of what we're going to look like two years from now versus two weeks from now.

Not that we wouldn't address a particular need on the short term, I think we'll wait 12 months, 24 months heavier than we would addressing a need two weeks out.

"

Following the sound bite, Larsen and Dowsett speculated on whether Enes Kanter could be moved for a piece or pieces that would help the team in the long run.

Thanks to the emergence of Rudy Gobert, Kanter's name is the one most people are thinking about in terms of a trade.

He's still just 22, but his impact on the floor hasn't been as positive as that of Gobert or Derrick Favors.

	ORtg	DRtg	Net Rtg
Derrick Favors	106.7	108.7	minus-2.0
Enes Kanter	105.3	111.9	minus-6.6
Rudy Gobert	99.7	100.6	minus-0.9

That's not to say he's completely ineffective, though. The young big man's shown an advanced low-post game and shooting range that suggests the potential to be a stretch 4 or 5.

	0-to-3 feet	3-to-10 feet	10-to-16 feet	Three-Point Range
2011-12	63.4%	39.5%	21.1%	0-of-1
2012-13	65.2%	44.6%	40%	1-of-1
2013-14	63.8%	41.5%	39%	0-of-1
2014-15	67.2%	42.3%	42.4%	11-of-32 (34.4%)

As Kanter enters restricted free agency this summer, Utah might need to explore trades to avoid the possibility of losing him for nothing. He could at least be dangled on the line, just to see if another team is willing to offer something that would fill a need elsewhere.

More Shooting

The Jazz are currently 23rd in the league in threes per game at 6.8 and 24th in three-point percentage at 33.3. With Burks out, the only real long-range threat on the roster is Gordon Hayward.

If the team could get a trade package that included some shooting and fits the vision Lindsey laid out, it'd have to take a look at it. And the Indiana Pacers are a team that could desperately use the kind of interior scoring punch Kanter's capable of.

According to NBA.com, Indiana's averaging just 98.5 points per 100 possessions. Only the Philadelphia 76ers are worse.

Having someone like Kanter backing up all-defense, no-offense Roy Hibbert would give the Pacers' second unit a reliable go-to. And with Kanter's improving outside shot, he could even come in for David West from time to time.

Indiana has a couple of shooters they could send to Utah in Chris Copeland or C.J. Miles. Neither moves the needle long term, so Indiana would have to be willing to part with some future assets as well.

Solomon Hill's salary fits perfectly and makes a deal work under the collective bargaining agreement. He could be a rotation player for Utah, but Indiana's clearly getting the best player in the deal. That will make it easier to part with a pick.

	Age	MIN	PTS	REB	FG%	3P%	PER
Enes Kanter	22	26.8	14.0	7.3	50.9%	34.4%	17.9
Solomon Hill	23	31.8	10.3	4.6	38.5%	29.7%	10.6
Chris Copeland	30	20.9	8.1	2.8	36.7%	32.5%	7.9

When you consider that he shot 42 percent from three-point range over the past two seasons, Copeland's poor shooting in 2014-15 should be seen as a potential outlier. In a system with better spacing, there's reason to believe he turns it around.

The Pacers, meanwhile, are just 1.5 games behind the Brooklyn Nets for the eighth seed in the East. Dealing for Kanter could give them a push to get into the playoffs.

Possible Deal: Chris Copeland, Solomon Hill and a first-round pick for Enes Kanter

Wing Depth

Utah is starting Joe Ingles at shooting guard, and recent D-League call-up Elijah Millsap is getting significant rotation minutes off the bench. Yeah, the wing situation is bad.

	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	FG%	3P%	PER
Joe Ingles	17.9	3.5	2.0	2.1	40.2%	26.3%	8.9
Elijah Millsap	24.0	5.6	2.8	1.4	32.3%	46.2%	4.3

A familiar player to Jazz fans could help solidify the rotation. And according to ESPN's Marc Stein, he's available.

Of course, that was before the Nets traded Andrei Kirilenko to the 76ers, but it's hard to imagine he's any less available following a suspension for not reporting to his new team.

He doesn't really help with the shooting woes, but Kirilenko's defense and experience could be equally valuable on such a young team. Plus, getting him likely wouldn't cost Kanter.

Possible Deal: Andrei Kirilenko for Jeremy Evans and Ian Clark 

Point Guard Depth

As bad as things are on the wings, point guard might be an even bigger problem.

Sure, Dante Exum has shown flashes of his immense potential, and Trey Burke was a relatively bright spot in a bad 2013 rookie class, but both have been borderline dreadful here in the present.

		League Rank
PTS	17.2	25th
AST	6.8	26th
FG%	38%	30th
3P%	31.9%	23rd

Clark occasionally fills the role, but Utah doesn't really have a third point guard on the roster. A veteran signal-caller could help stabilize the position and mentor youngsters Burke and Exum.

Another former Jazz player, Deron Williams, came up recently, but the rumors were quickly debunked by the Deseret News' Jody Genessy.

One option could be calling Phil Jackson, who appears to be on the verge of kicking off a fire sale with the New York Knicks. He already shipped off J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, and Stein and Ian Begley of ESPN New York reported that he's actively shopping Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani.

Calderon's contract, which has two more seasons after this one, would eat up too much of Utah's cap sheet. But an inquiry on his backup, Pablo Prigioni, makes sense for the Jazz.

The possibility came up this past offseason, according to Begley, who reported, "the Jazz eventually backed out."

At the time, Utah may have thought it'd be fine with the tandem of Burke and Exum. But almost halfway through the season, the argument could easily be made that point guard is the team's most glaring weakness.

A straight-up swap of Prigioni and Evans gives the Knicks an expiring contract and saves them from paying the former $1.7 million in 2015-16.

Possible Deal: Pablo Prigioni for Jeremy Evans

Long-Term Vision 

With Utah's front office being generally hush-hush about its strategy heading into the trade deadline, all of this is speculation. But the needs on the roster are pretty obvious, and there are deals out there that can help.

Will the Jazz avoid Kanter's restricted free agency and move him now? Will they make a smaller deal like the second two here? Or will they stand pat?

As Lindsey said, it's all about, "the long-term interest of the Utah Jazz."

Unless otherwise noted, all stats and salary figures are courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com and are current as of Jan. 15, 2015.

Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.