NBA Scout Urges 76ers to Make Bold Draft Trade with Utah Jazz

The ping-pong balls didn't exactly fall in the Utah Jazz's favor during this year's NBA Draft Lottery, but that doesn't mean the door can't still be open for this team to make a bold shift up the board and into the top three.

Of course, trading into the first pick for Cooper Flagg would be virtually impossible, and with Dylan Harper further cementing himself into the second player of the board next month, moving up to number two with the San Antonio Spurs could be a tough package to put together as well.

But at number three in a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, that might be the spot for the Jazz to strike a deal, and especially so in the eyes of an anonymous NBA scout.

In an interview with Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, an anonymous scout said that if he were 76ers' executive Daryl Morey, he would investigate a move outside of number three, perhaps with a team like the Jazz.

"The scout believes that after Flagg and Harper, the next three or four guys are basically the same," Pompey wrote. "If he were Morey, the scout said he would see if the Charlotte Hornets (with the fourth pick) or Utah Jazz (fifth) want to move up."

If the Jazz were able to make that shift into the top three, the runway would be open for this team to take a flier on a talent like Rutgers' Ace Bailey, or even Baylor's VJ Edgecombe–– a certified cornerstone Utah can build around for the future, instead of hoping for the best talent available to drop in their laps at five.

It could require some decent assets to be packaged together from Utah in order to make that move up, even if it may be just two slots. But, with the Jazz collection of future draft picks, veteran talent, and potentially even a young player already on their roster, there's a lot to like from the 76ers' perspective to see a chance of an agreement coming to fruition.

Many weeks still lie between now and when the 2025 NBA Draft officially gets going, but don't discount the Jazz from making an intriguing move up the board if the stars align.