As NBA Trade Deadline Nears, is Joe Johnson Wanting Out of Utah Jazz?

With less than a week left before the trade deadline arrives, Utah Jazz shooting guard Joe Johnson is reportedly hoping to move out of his current team.

The player, who is now on the 17th season of his professional basketball career, is reportedly "angling behind the scenes for a trade out of Utah," league sources told New York Times' Marc Stein.

However, in Stein's update, the possibility that Johnson could become one of the candidates for a contract buyout was also suggested. This is likely to happen if the Utah front office will not be able to get a good trade deal for Johnson until the deadline.

On the other hand, NJ.com also suggested another possibility, which is of Utah buying out the remainder on Johnson's contract. If this ends up being the case, he will proceed to the free agency.

The same publication mentioned that the Philadelphia 76ers might show more interest in picking up Johnson once he is a free agent, mainly due to the veteran experience that he can bring and share with the team.

Added to that, Johnson will be reunited with Bryan Colangelo if he ever ends up with the Sixers. It can be recalled that the current Sixers president of basketball operations and general manager used to be an executive official of the Phoenix Suns at the time when Johnson used to play for the team.

Meanwhile, Johnson wanting to make an exit from the Jazz is also not puzzling. With the years he has had in the league, there is no wonder if the shooting guard wants to join another franchise with a chance of making it to the playoffs.

Aside from experience, Johnson is also proving to be a worthy asset off the bench and can still deliver scores for the Jazz. Currently, he is averaging 7.5 points, 1.5 assists, and 3.4 rebounds within just over 9 minutes of game time.

The NBA trade deadline is on Feb. 8.