The San Antonio Spurs have traded forward Boris Diaw to the Utah Jazz, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported on Tuesday afternoon:
San Antonio has traded forward Boris Diaw to the Utah Jazz, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 5, 2016
Boris Diaw Traded to Utah Jazz
In exchange for Diaw, the Jazz will send the rights to 2015 second round pick Olivier Hanlan to San Antonio, according to Wojnarowski.
The trade will give the Spurs the cap space to sign forward/center Pau Gasol, who recently agreed to a two-year, $30 million deal with the team. With now-former Spurs power forward David West agreeing to sign with the Golden State Warriors today, and forward/center Tim Duncan potentially retiring, the Spurs desperately need Gasol to shore up their frontcourt. They’ve needed a starting-caliber center with length and size ever since they traded Tiago Splitter to the Atlanta Hawks last summer. Duncan drastically declined last season and is 40 years old, while LaMarcus Aldridge and Diaw are both better suited to play power forward. Although Gasol can play power forward, he has the length to play center and will be an ideal fit there at this point in his career. The addition of Gasol may be a difference maker for San Antonio next season. The Spurs are still in title contention and are looking to compete with the Golden State Warriors, who agreed to a contract with superstar Kevin Durant yesterday.
For Utah, the Jazz acquire the 34-year-old Diaw, who averaged just 6.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last season coming off the bench for the Spurs. Diaw saw a steep decline in his numbers and play from the previous two seasons. In the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, Diaw was one of the key performers for the Spurs in back-to-back NBA Finals runs, including their 2014 championship. His shooting, rebounding, defense, and especially passing ability makes him a valuable role player on both ends of the floor. Diaw’s spectacular court vision from the power forward position allowed the Spurs to pick apart the defenses of more athletic teams in the playoffs, including the 2013-14 editions of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat.
Diaw joins fellow Frenchman and Jazz starting center Rudy Gobert in Utah. With the acquisitions of point guard George Hill and Diaw, the Jazz look primed to win 50 or more games next season and make a potentially deep postseason run. They fell just short of the playoffs last season, finishing a game behind the Houston Rockets for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
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