Welcome to the Utah Jazz mailbag, where our NBA insiders tackle your questions about the team. Every week, we’ll post a prompt on KSL Sports Threads, Instagram, X, and Facebook pages, inviting you to submit your inquiries about the Jazz. We’ll do our best to address as many questions as possible in each week’s mailbag. So, keep an eye out for our prompts and send in your queries!
Question: If the Jazz package 29 and 32 how high could they move up in the draft? Milwaukee/Phoenix range or higher?
In response to your inquiry, last week I discussed the potential for the Utah Jazz to leverage their tenth pick by packaging it with their late first-round and early second-round picks to move up in the draft.
Now, let’s look at who could be a trade partner in the mid to early 20s.
Here’s a quick glance at the teams drafting between 20-28, before the Jazz are scheduled to make their second selection at pick 29.
20. Cleveland Cavaliers
21. New Orleans Pelicans
22. Phoenix Suns
23. Milwaukee Bucks
24. New York Knicks
25. New York Knicks
26. Washington Wizards
27. Minnesota Timberwolves
28. Denver Nuggets
Unless the Jazz see someone falling down the draft board significantly, and they simply can’t afford to let another pick go by without trading up to acquire him, I don’t think swapping the 29th and 32nd picks to move up to the 26-28 range is great value.
That is especially true this year when the 32nd pick could have added value with teams having an extra night to prepare for the second round in the draft.
Not only does New York own back-to-back picks in the mid-20s, they also own the 38th overall pick, coincidentally from the Jazz. Thus, the Knicks seem very unlikely to look to acquire more draft assets.
That means we should really start looking at trade-up opportunities beginning with the Bucks at 23.
But here’s the problem. Like the Knicks, Milwaukee already owns the 33rd pick in the draft, so their interest level in the Jazz’s 29th or 32nd picks should be next to nothing.
That leaves the Phoenix, New Orleans, and Cleveland as the most realistic trade partners.
Of the three, Phoenix should be the most motivated to make a trade, needing to add multiple players on small contracts that should retain trade value in the coming seasons.
Swapping one pick in the early 20s for two picks that could contribute to their veteran roster next season may help them fill out their roster without further breaking the bank.
New Orleans is also in need of some roster turnover, and with several large salaries on the payroll, adding young talent with a low price tag could have some intrigue.
Cleveland, like both Phoenix and New Orleans, also has only one pick in this year’s draft, and may like the idea of adding depth to their roster with rookies who could step in and contribute immediately, though trading back nine spots might be a bridge too far.
I don’t think the Jazz want to add three rookies to next year’s roster, so making all three draft picks seems unlikely. I wouldn’t rule out an aggressive push to move up in the second round, and I’d focus on the Suns as a potential trade partner.
