Next Steps for Utah Jazz After Devastating Draft Lottery Result

There is no way to sugarcoat this; the Utah Jazz falling to fifth in the draft order after losing a franchise record 65 games is a devastating blow for an organization that has yet to get its wheels rolling forward after trading Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert three years ago. Getting leapfrogged by the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, and Philadelphia 76ers– all teams that have far more talent than their draft slot would indicate– makes it even worse.

So, what’s next for the Jazz? How do they proceed not only without Cooper Flagg, but consolation prizes like Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey? Let’s talk about it.

First off, the draft lottery is not rigged. If it were, the results would probably look an awful lot like they did, but, whether this makes you feel better or worse, the Jazz weren’t conspired against; they were just unlucky, again. The other 29 teams are not going to feel bad for the Jazz, so they’ve got to get up, wipe the tears off their cheeks, and continue to push forward.

Draft

The first step is going to be finding a prospect that they believe is part of their next good team. The two most obvious candidates for the pick are Texas shooting guard Tre Johnson and Duke shooting guard Kon Knueppel, but there is a wide range of prospects who will be in the conversation. 

Carter Bryant, a wing from Arizona, is someone that I would seriously consider in this spot. Others like Derik Queen, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Jeremiah Fears could also be an option.

As we just saw, crazy things happen in this league. Maybe Charlotte or Philadelphia falls in love with Tre Johnson, meaning VJ Edgecombe falls into Utah’s lap at 5. Even crazier, maybe front offices are too divided on Ace Bailey that he falls. So even though the Jazz lost the ability to choose from the top group, at least they’re in a good position to scoop someone up if they fall.

Trades

From there, the Jazz still hold a lot of chips on the trade market. They still have Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, and Collin Sexton, each of whom makes less sense to the Jazz than if they’d gotten a top two pick.

Could San Antonio or Philadelphia have an interest in Markkanen? He’d be a great complement to both Wembanyama and Embiid, but coming off a subpar season with a massive new contract kicking in, that price is probably too steep for either team, especially with Giannis Antetokounmpo possibly being available.

Future Outlook

The harsh reality is that this lottery slide all but vaporizes Utah’s hopes of a short rebuild. Going into the fourth season of this post-Mitchell era, the team is still in search of a franchise cornerstone that they can truly build around. The most realistic and possibly only way for the Jazz to get that is with a high pick in the draft.

On the bright side, the 2026 NBA Draft class looks like one of the best in history. I expect the Jazz to put themselves in a position to get a high pick again next year. Hopefully, they will do so with whoever they draft fifth overall looking like a perfect sidekick, and with a little more luck on their side.