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Utah Jazz Receive: SF/PF Harrison Barnes

Dallas Mavericks Receive: SG Alec Burks, PF/C Derrick Favors and 2018 top-10 protected first round pick

The Jazz badly need help on offense. They rank 27th in points scored per 100 possessions, and they don't have a bona fide go-to buckets-getter.

Ricky Rubio leads them in scoring, which, wow. Rookie combo guard Donovan Mitchell entered the NBA on a heat check, and the Jazz's offense has at times approached respectability with him on the court. But they cannot expect a first-year player to ferry an above-average attack at all, let alone for an entire season.

Rodney Hood isn't first-option material. He's best served in a No. 2 or No. 3 capacity. That much is now clear. Derrick Favors' offensive game is about five years too late to the alpha-scorer party. And 28-year-old Joe Johnson isn't walking through that door.

Utah has to look outside its own house for a possible solution. Contacting the Dallas Mavericks is a good place to start. They're in the early stages of a rebuild, and rookie Dennis Smith Jr. now commands a lion's share of the offense.

Sponging up Alec Burks' deal isn't the greatest outcome, but they save $12.6 million in 2018-19 by paying him instead of Barnes and then another $25.1 million in 2019-20 when the former comes off the books. Tack on a first-round pick, along with the chance to try out Favors down low, and the Mavericks at least have to think about this offer.

Likewise, the Jazz should think about making it.

Brokering midseason blockbusters is uncharacteristic of general manager Dennis Lindsey, but Barnes is worth the gamble—even at his lofty price point ($72.3 million through 2019-20). The Jazz need a shot creator, and he's exactly that.

Although his efficiency has imploded this season, Barnes wrapped 2016-17 shooting 45.7 percent in isolation—the third-best mark among players to chew through 200 or more one-on-one touches. And nearly 18 percent of his total field-goal attempts came late in the shot clock—the highest share among 365 players to appear in at least 10 games.

Give him the freedom to run some pick-and-rolls with Rudy Gobert, along with the option of spotting up behind Rubio drives, and he should be closer career-best form than not. And while he had an iffy relationship with on-off splits during his debut season in Dallas, the Jazz could use that version of him now.

Unless otherwise cited, all stats are courtesy of NBA.com or Basketball Reference and current leading into games on Nov. 8.

Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale) and listen to his Hardwood Knocks podcast co-hosted by B/R's Andrew Bailey.