Jazz Trade Ronnie Brewer To Grizzlies

The Jazz found another way to cut their payroll this season. While Utah had been linked with Miami over a possible Carlos Boozer trade that would have meant substantial luxury tax savings for the Jazz, they managed to make a smaller deal before the deadline that will nonetheless save them a fair amount of money for the remainder of the season.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the Jazz shipped out Ronnie Brewer to the Grizzlies for a protected-2011 first-round draft pick. The deal will save the Jazz the rest of the prorated $2.7 million Brewer is owed for this season, as well as luxury tax costs, while giving the Grizzlies another athletic wing to bring off the bench.

Still, for a Utah team that has 15 of its past 17 games to come within a game of second place in the West, giving up a rotation player for a future asset is a bitter pill to swallow. Such is life in the NBA circa 2010, when over half the teams are losing money.