The Utah Jazz have so far intended their plan to keep Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson out of trade talks, sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

While the Jazz also will maintain a high asking price for Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, Mike Conley and Kelly Olynyk could be made available before the trade deadline.

The Jazz have interest in trading for John Collins, but a scenario where they actually acquire him is considered low. The Atlanta Hawks approached Utah on a trade of Collins for Markkanen and those talks didn't generate any traction.

Johnny Juzang was examined Tuesday by the Utah Jazz medical staff and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) testing. The MRI revealed a full thickness tear (Grade 3 sprain) in his right wrist, which he suffered while playing with the Stars against the G League Ignite on Nov. 18. He will be reevaluated in 10-14 days.

Juzang (6-7, 215, UCLA) is in his first NBA season on a two-way contract. With the Salt Lake City Stars, he’s appeared in five games (all starts), averaging 13.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per contest.

When Mike Conley was injured during Saturday's win at the Portland Trail Blazers, it was feared he suffered a major knee injury. Now, the Utah Jazz can breathe a sigh of relief.

Conley avoided any major ligament damage in his left knee. He's been diagnosed with a strained left knee and will miss at least two weeks.

The veteran point guard has been one of the leaders for the surprising Jazz, who sit atop the Western Conference at 12-6. Conley has averaged 10.2 points and a career-high 7.9 assists per game for Utah this season.

The Atlanta Hawks are again gauging the trade market for big man John Collins. A team with perhaps surprising interest in Collins is the Utah Jazz.

Utah is off to a surprising start, and just defeated the Phoenix Suns to snap a three-game losing streak. That win improved Utah's record to 11-6 on the season.

The Jazz can offer matching salary to Atlanta for Collins in multiple different ways. And Utah owns several first-round picks from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves, allowing them to sweeten any offer they might make.

Collins' stats are down nearly across the board this season. He's taking his fewest shots per game since his rookie season. And Collins often finds himself spotting up in the corner, while Trae Young and new addition Dejounte Murray run the offense.

An MRI on Rudy Gay revealed a third finger MCP joint sprain in his left hand. He will be reevaluated in two weeks. 

Gay is in his 17th NBA season and second with the Jazz, owning averages of 4.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per contest in 2022-23. 

Donovan Mitchell expected he would eventually be traded to the New York Knicks, but the Utah Jazz instead sent him to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a surprise move.

Mitchell was asked by Sam Amick of The Athletic if he knew who would have been traded by the Knicks to the Jazz.

"I was told it was RJ (Barrett) and hella (draft) picks. That’s what I heard. And I thought that was happening. I thought that was it. I’m there (on the East Coast) all offseason. I’m there in the summer. So that’s why I thought, 'All right, this is gonna be a long haul in Cleveland (if they gave up Garland, Mobley and/or Allen in the deal).' But when I found out those guys were (not in the deal), it was like, 'All right, we can really do something. Like, we really could do something.' Nothing to slight the guys that were involved in the deal going to Utah. But for me, it was just like, 'We have the talent.' I said it at the press conference: Our talent is scary, but we’ve got to go out there and do it."

Mitchell was asked if it was true he was focused on a trade to either the Knicks, Brooklyn Nets or Miami Heat.

"I never said that," replied Mitchell. "I don’t know where that came from. I didn’t say that. I didn’t say a lot."

Mitchell was then asked if the Cavaliers were on his radar before the trade.

"Anything you heard in the news is what I heard," said Mitchell. "Like, when I said that I heard Cleveland was in there for a second and took their name out, that’s what I thought. So I didn’t think about it. It wasn’t one that was on my radar. I just said, 'Look, I’m just gonna play wherever I’m at.' If it came back to training camp in Utah, I’d be ready for that. I took the summer to say, 'Look, I played like s— in the playoffs. I wasn’t my best self, and I want to be the best me I could be for wherever the hell I’m at. Wherever the hell I’m at — New York, Brooklyn, Miami, Toronto, OKC, Utah."

After the Utah Jazz traded Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell this offseason, Mike Conley thought he would be next to go. Conley knew it was on the table, enough so that he and his wife began preparing contingency plans for their family in the case of a deal.

At one point, Conley thought he was headed to the LA Clippers. A person Conley trusts told him that a move to the Clippers could be real. LA ultimately chose to sign John Wall instead.

Conley said he's now over his initial reservations about staying with the Jazz during what seemed to be a rebuilding season.

“This was tough at first because I’m 35 and I’m so used to having championship aspirations. I came to the Jazz to play for championships. So, I was wondering what would end up happening. But once we got a new coach (Will Hardy) in here and he started laying things out, I knew that I wanted to be here. We are building and developing," Conley said. “I wanted to put my ego aside and focus on the guys. I’ve loved every second of being on this team, and we play a brand of basketball here that we haven’t played in a while.”

Three players from the 2020 NBA Draft class had their 2023-24 rookie scale team options declined. The deadline for teams to exercise these options for next season was Monday, October 31.

Udoka Azubuike of the Utah Jazz had his fourth-year option declined. Jazz teammate Leandro Bolmaro had his third-year option declined by the Jazz. (Bolmaro was also drafted in 2020 but did not sign until 2021.) Bolmaro was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to Utah this past offseason.

RJ Hampton of the Orlando Magic also had his fourth-year option declined. Hampton was originally drafted by the Denver Nuggets before being traded to Orlando at the 2021 trade deadline.

Fellow 2020 draftee Jalen Smith had his third-year option declined by the Phoenix Suns last year. Smith was then traded to the Indiana Pacers at the 2022 trade deadline.

Azubuike, Bolmaro and Hampton's teams, or an acquiring team (as was the case with Smith), are now capped at paying them a first-year salary equal to the declined amount of their option. Smith re-signed with the Pacers on this type of deal this past summer.