NBA Mock Trade: Utah Jazz Jump to No. 3 at NBA Draft

At the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, the Utah Jazz weren’t exceptionally lucky.

Having amassed the worst record in the league last season, they fell as far as possible at the lottery, landing the No. 5 pick. All while teams like Dallas, San Antonio and Philadelphia moved up into the top three.

While it’s only a few spots, the difference in prospects from No. 3 to No. 5 could be a decently-sized gap, meaning Utah has likely already explored ways to get there.

The Mavericks and Spurs seem to be locked in on Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper, respectively, meaning the Sixers are likely the play if the Jazz are looking to strike a deal. And with Philadelphia wanting to win as early as next year, they make sense as a trade-back candidate.

Here’s a mock trade that could benefit both Utah and Philadelphia:

Philadelphia 76ers get: No. 5, No. 21, No. 53, Jordan Clarkson, 

Utah Jazz get: No. 3, Eric Gordon, Andre Drummond

The price to move forward just two spots likely won’t be too high, unless other teams are driving up the bidding price. 

The centerpieces of the deal are swapping No. 3 and No. 5, as well as Jordan Clarkson — a strong rotational scoring guard — landing in Philadelphia. While Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond are decent pieces for the Sixers, Clarkson would pack a scoring punch off the bench that few could.

Additionally, the Sixers gets the No. 21 pick — which they could use to draft an NBA-ready prospect, or ship off in separate deals — as well as another second round pick for the same purpose.

The Jazz give up a few current and future assets, but get to move ahead of the Charlotte Hornets, who could be hunting the very same prospects.

At No. 3, the Jazz would have its pick of Rutgers wing Ace Bailey, Baylor hybrid VJ Edgecombe, Texas hyper-scorer Tre Johnson and plenty more. All players that could usher Utah into a new era.