Utah Jazz trade for Toronto forward Steve Novak

The Utah Jazz have traded guard Diante Garrett for Toronto Raptors small forward Steve Novak, the Salt Lake Tribune has confirmed.

The trade was originally reported by Yahoo! Sports NBA expert Adrian Wojnarowski, who said the Jazz will receive Novak and his two year, $7.2 million contract, along with a future second round pick, in exchange for Garrett.

Novak is one of the best shooting big men in the NBA and the Jazz have voiced their desire for a few weeks to add shooting to a roster that's been devoid of that characteristic over the last two seasons.

At 6-foot-10, Novak certainly adds that. There are few catch and shoot power forwards in the league more capable than him. Novak, however, adds little value beyond his ability to make wide open looks like those seen here.

He can provide minutes off the bench in relief of Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter. Garrett's trade eases the glut of guards the Jazz have in their backcourt. And getting a shooter to replace him makes sense for Utah's blueprint going forward under new coach Quin Snyder.

Novak, an eight year NBA veteran, played in 54 games for Toronto last season and started one, averaging 3.3 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.

Novak was originally drafted by the Houston Rockets in the second round of the 2006 draft and has been a journeyman player throughout his career, moving from Houston to the L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks before joining the Raptors in 2013.

His best season came in 2011, when he averaged 8.8 points and 1.9 rebounds for the Knicks.

Check back for updates on this story.

tjones@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tjonessltrib