Thu, Dec 22, 2011 at 8:56pm

OKUR TO NEW JERSEY

The New Jersey Nets acquired center Mehmet Okur from the Utah Jazz for a second-round draft pick in 2015 and a trade exception.

What does it give the New Jersey Nets
The Nets were desperate to add center help after losing Brook Lopez for several weeks to a foot injury. With the latter's status uncertain, in Okur Jersey gets a polished, gritty veteran who can hit the outside shot. While Memo's best days are behind him, he's easily the Nets' best option in the middle right now (since usual backup Johan Petro is far from proven or consistent). The Nets would have preferred to land Dwight Howard, but that long-rumored deal doesn't appear to be imminent anymore.

What does it give the Utah Jazz
The Jazz didn't need Okur moving forward, since Al Jefferson and rising young talents Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter can also excel at the pivot position. Furthermore, Paul Millsap is also around and needing regular minutes in the paint, so clearly Utah deemed Okur expendable. The trade exception gives them the financial flexibility to sign a player of Okur's value later on, but the draft pick isn't likely to be very helpful.

Fantasy impact