MADRID, SPAIN - MARCH 17: Victor Wembanyama of LDLC Asvel Villeurbanne shoots during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague match between Real Madrid and LDLC Asvel Villeurbanne at Wizink Center on March 17, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Sonia Canada/Getty Images)
Could the Utah Jazz get the first overall pick in 2023?
ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne’s French player Victor Wembanyama trains prior to the Euroleague basketball match between ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne and Zalgiris Kaunas at the Astroballe arena in Villeurbanne, near Lyon, on October 1, 2021. (Photo by PHILIPPE DESMAZES / AFP) (Photo by PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP via Getty Images)
Step two: get all the 2023 draft picks you can
In order to maximize the lottery odds, the Utah Jazz will have to make the biggest gamble in NBA history. The franchise will have to trade almost all of their future picks to get as many high lottery picks in the upcoming draft. To do so, I suggest that Utah look to San Antonio and Houston.
Both teams are several years away from competing, and both teams are, at this point, trying to get as many draft picks as possible.
The Jazz got four picks for Donovan Mitchell in my hypothetical trade earlier, and they got four in the very real Rudy Gobert trade. Are four future picks worth losing for one lottery pick? In this loaded draft class, absolutely. Even if the Jazz miss out on Victor Wembanyama, there are still franchise-saving players at the top like Scoot Henderson, Nick Smith, and Anthony Black. All of those guys are insanely good, and with picks from Houston, San Antonio, and their own, Utah could get multiple of those guys. I suggest the Jazz pull off two trades to get the best picks possible.
Jazz Get
2023 first round pick
Spurs Get
2023, 2025, 2027, 2029 FRP via MINN
Jazz Get
2023 first round pick
Rockets Get
2023, 2025, 2027, 2029 FRP via NYK
Would the Spurs and Rockets go for it? Probably. Both teams are several years out, and the Jazz have the supporting cast to build a winner now, provided they have the right star. San Antonio and Houston each get four future picks to salivate over, and Jazz basketball could be back as soon as 2023-24.
If the Jazz are serious about rebuilding, this is a drastic, but smart, way to go about it. They could stay the course they are on and see what happens. There’s merit to that, but it could be time to turn the franchise upside down.
