The massive annual Salt City Hoops free agent guide is up... but that's not the only way the Jazz can use the mid-level exception.

As discussed earlier, the Utah Jazz probably need another guy or two who has been a high-minute guy on a good team. Their primary tool to add such a player is the MLE, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can only sign one as a free agent. The latest collective bargaining agreement also enables teams to use salary cap exceptions like the MLE to acquire a player via trade, provided that the salary fits entirely into said exception.

That means there's some possibility the Jazz could add to their roster that way, so here's a companion piece to the free agent guide that focuses instead on players that are (at least theoretically) potential trade targets.

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Theoretical MLE trade targets

• This list only includes guys whose 2026-27 salary is between $7 and $15 million. Technically, the Jazz could acquire someone making less, but at some point it's smarter to find another way to acquire a lower-salary player and keep the bigger exception intact.
• I'm ignoring players on rookie scale deals, because any recent draftee who's contributing on the level of "rotation guy on a playoff team" is probably not getting traded.
• Let's prioritize players who contribute to winning. To do that, the list below is sorted by EPM wins added, rather than by salary.
• Must be tradeable currently, meaning no recent FA signings. We'll include guys who have recently been traded for sake of completeness, but it's unlikely that they get moved again.

Those parameters leave us with a list of 48 guys:

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Nickeil Alexander-Walker

• 9.4 wins added, $14.4M next season followed by 1 + PO
• Quick analysis: Atlanta will likely not entertain moving the reigning Most Improved Player after his breakout season.

Payton Pritchard

• 8.3 wins added, $7.8M next season then one year left
• Quick analysis: He was the 6MOY two seasons ago and then moved into starting last season, so feels pretty essential to the Celtics' plans.

Donte DiVincenzo

• 8.1 wins added, $12.5M expiring
• Quick analysis: The Big Ragu will miss most or all of next season, so it doesn't make a ton of sense to acquire him as an expiring deal.

Deni Avdija

• 7.8 wins added, $13.1M next season then one year left
• Quick analysis: Dream on. Avdija — whom the Jazz have liked since before he was an All-Star — is not gettable now that he's a top-30 player on one of the league's best deals.

Moses Moody

• 5.5 wins added, $12.5M next season followed by one year left
• Quick analysis: Moody's patellar tendon tear couldn't have come at a worse time since the sharpshooting guard was having his best NBA season... but he is reportedly targeting a return in time for training camp.

Sam Hauser

• 5.4 wins added, $10.8M next season followed by two years left
• Quick analysis: Hauser is a wing with size who can really shoot (41% career from three), and is actually a plus defender. He's been part of Boston's rotation the last two years, but their finances are tough, so maybe they'd listen to the right offer.

Davion Mitchell

• 5.1 wins added, $12.4M expiring
• Quick analysis: Mitchell is an OK starting point guard, but Miami probably needs to be adding rotation-caliber talent, not subtracting..

Isaiah Joe - just traded to Detroit

Brook Lopez

• 4.3 wins added, $9.2M expiring (if TO exercised)
• Quick analysis: The 38-year-old BroLo is still impactful, but it's hard to imagine the Jazz spending the lion's share of their MLE to rent a bench big..

Sam Merrill

• 4.3 wins added, $9.2M next season then two years left
• Quick analysis: The USU product would definitely help Utah's lack of reliable outside shooting, but is a small two who isn't known for being a plus defender.

Naji Marshall

• 4.1 wins added, $9.4M expiring
• Quick analysis: Marshall is a good defender, and crafty enough to overcome his lack of outside shooting (he had one good shooting year in NOP).

Tre Jones

• 4.0 wins added, $8M next season followed by TO
• Quick analysis: He's a capable guard, but I have a hard time picturing the Jazz spending $8M on what would be their 3rd or 4th ball handler.

Derrick Jones Jr.

• 3.6 wins added, $10.5M expiring
• Quick analysis: He's a plus defender whose perimeter shooting comes and goes, and he's still just 29 despite having helped a bunch of relevant teams.

Jaylin Williams

• 3.6 wins added, $7.8M next season followed by a TO
• Quick analysis: The fact that it would drive Mark Pereira crazy is a plus, but in all seriousness that's a lot to spend on a backup center.

Jalen Smith

• 3.4 wins added, $9.4M expiring
• Quick analysis: Smith is quietly pretty good, but he's not really a center, and the Jazz have a couple of really good players who play at least some power forward..

Luke Kornet

• 3.3 wins added, $10.5M next season followed by two years (with partial guarantees and a TO)
• Quick analysis: He's on a team-friendly deal and is a smart center, even though some of his limitations were on display in the Finals.

DeAndre Ayton

• 3.3 wins added, $8.4M expiring (if PO exercised)
• Quick analysis: Ayton was in the FA piece too, in which I expressed doubt that he's the exact kind of center the Jazz would want even if Walker Kessler leaves.

Clint Capela

• 2.9 wins added, $7M next season then one year left
• Quick analysis: This would cost nearly half the MLE without dramatically changing the way we think about the rotation.

Max Christie

• 2.8 wins added, $8.9M next season then a PO
• Quick analysis: An improving guard, but he also has never really been a high-minute contributor on a winner.

Isaiah Stewart - just traded to Memphis

Goga Bitadze

• 2.7 wins added, $7.6M expiring
• Quick analysis: Goga was pretty good for Orlando, especially with solid rim protection numbers.

TJ McConnell

• 2.6 wins added, $11M next season then two years left (w/ partial guarantees and a TO)
• Quick analysis: A ball-mover with a little bit of eff-you scoring instincts, TJ has been a 6MOY candidate a couple of times (never a finalist).

AJ Green

• 2.6 wins added, $10.0M next season then three years left
• Quick analysis: This undrafted guard has a low-cost extension just starting. He's a lights-out shooter but a minus defender.

Herb Jones

• 2.4 wins added, $14.9M next season then two years left + PO
• Quick analysis: “Mamu” played a big role off the bench for Toronto this season, and if the Jazz don’t retain Jusuf Nurkic for backup center minutes, they could do a lot worse.

Royce O'Neale

• 2.3 wins added, $10.9M next season then one year left
• Quick analysis: Jones can be so good defensively, but it's tough to play wings with 49% true shooting.

Grant Williams

• 2.2 wins added, $14.3M expiring
• Quick analysis: Primarily a small-ish four, I'm not sure how he'd get enough minutes behind Utah's other forwards to justify this salary.

Aaron Nesmith

• 2.1 wins added, $11M next season then two years left (with a jump)
• Quick analysis: He's ridiculously cheap this year for what he is (Finals-level 3-and-D contributor when he's healthy), but then has an extension kicking in next season that will pay him $19.4M and then $21.0M... I just can't figure out why Indy would move him now with their "gap year" behind them.

Ty Jerome

• 2.1 wins added, $9.2M next season then a PO
• Quick analysis: His stock is probably too high now after he electrified Memphis with nearly 20 a game during a brief spring stint in between injuries.

Jonas Valanciunas

• 2.0 wins added, $10M expiring (non-guaranteed)
• Quick analysis: A longtime starter, JV would certainly bring some experience to the rotation, but at an 8-figure cost..

Aaron Wiggins - just traded to Atlanta

Steven Adams

• 1.6 wins added, $13M next season then one year left
• Quick analysis: An offensive rebounding maching who's been hurt a lot in the last three seasons.

Isaac Okoro

• 1.5 wins added, $11.8M expiring
• Quick analysis: He's been rotation-level for playoff teams in Cleveland, in a pretty defined role.

Bobby Portis - just traded to Miami

Josh Green - just traded to Minnesota

Obi Toppin

• 1.2 wins added, $15M next season then one year left
• Quick analysis: Toppin is an interesting skilled four, but again, the Jazz aren't going to spend $15M on a third power forward.

Dennis Schroder

• 1.0 wins added, $14.8M next season then a partially guaranteed year
• Quick analysis: Schroder is a playoff-tested ball handler, but only makes sense at that figure if the Jazz feel like they don't have enough creation between Keyone George, Darryn Peterson, Isaiah Collier, etc.

Buddy Hield

• 0.9 wins added, $9.7M next season (partially guaranteed), then PO
• Quick analysis: He's a microwave scorer, although not really a creator, and his playoff experience probably isn't as extensive as you think.

Isaiah Jackson

• 0.7 wins added, $9.7M partial guarantee, followed by PO
• Quick analysis: He's a small center who plays tough but has never topped 17mpg.

Jonathan Isaac

• 0.6 wins added, $14.5M next year followed by two partially guaranteed years
• Quick analysis: He's a toolsy, multi-positional defender when he's healthy, but shooting has become a real struggle.

Kenrich Williams

• 0.6 wins added, $7.2M expiring (if TO exercised)
• Quick analysis: Williams' minutes have tapered off as OKC has gotten more competitive.

Corey Kispert

• 0.4 wins added, $14.0M next season then two years left (with a TO)
• Quick analysis: He's a hard-playing, sweet-shooting wing who saw his first playoff action this spring after being traded to Atlanta.

Zeke Nnaji

• 0.3 wins added, $7.5M next season followed by PO
• Quick analysis: Nnaji just has never really grabbed a major role in Denver, even though they could have used it.

Jarred Vanderbilt

• 0.2 wins added, $12.4M next season followed by PO
• Quick analysis: Vando's stint with Utah in 2022-23 didn't last long.

Caris LeVert

• 0.1 wins added, $14.8M expiring
• Quick analysis: He's a career 13-ppg scorer, but has never had exceptional efficiency.

Caleb Martin

• 0.0 wins added, $10M next year followed by PO
• Quick analysis: He was a big part of Miami's 2023 Finals run (30 mpg), but so far it hasn't worked out great in Dallas.

Dorian Finney-Smith

• -0.6 wins added, $13.3M next year followed by NG, PO
• Quick analysis: DFS is a playoff-tested defensive weapon, but man, he just gave the Rockets almost nothing last year.

Tre Mann

• -1.0 wins added, $8M next season followed by TO
• Quick analysis: An OKC draft pick in 2021, Mann still has yet to make the playoffs.

Damian Lillard

• Did not play last year, $13M next season followed by PO
• Quick analysis: Dame signed this deal last year while rehabbing so that he could continue his illustrious Portland career... so there's no way he's gettable.

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