Tonight it was
announced that the Utah Jazz have sent Eric Maynor (and Matt Harpring's expiring contract) to the Oklahoma City Thunder in return for the rights to
Peter Fehse of Germany, who incidentally has logged as many minutes in the NBA as your's truly. The Jazz have no interest in signing Fehse. It is merely a financial move that will save the Jazz around $10 million in luxury taxes.
I'm not surprised that the Jazz made a move to give them some tax relief, but I am surprised that the deal involved our backup PG. Maynor had been a steady contributor, and looks to have a bright future ahead of him in the NBA. In explaining the trade, Kevin O'Connor has said, "the fact is we've got Deron". While it is true that Maynor was never going to challenge Deron for the starting position, one only needs to mention names like Jordie McTavish or Delaney Rudd to understand the importance of a competent understudy at the point.
Tim Buckley also referenced the fact that Deron is averaging 38.5 minutes a game to show that Maynor's exit would not substantially affect the Jazz. This stat is a bit misleading, however, since Maynor and Deron have shared the back court often this season, and the combination has been pretty effective.
This deal may be most telling in terms of the Jazz's current financial situation. If we are willing to trade one of our best young players to an up-and-coming divisional rival for only financial relief in return, it tells me that the Jazz are 1) really hurting financially and/or 2) have it as their first priority to be a money-making organization first and a championship contender second.
