Utah Jazz GM Drops Strong Statement on No. 5 Pick

During the events of this year's draft lottery, the Utah Jazz didn't get quite the outcome they wanted going into the night.

Instead of lucking out and staying atop the board with their top-rated odds and filing in with the prized number one pick, or even within the top three, the Jazz fell all the way down to their worst-case scenario to pick five, and with it comes some major changes for how this offseason could soon transpire.

Of course, the fifth pick won't be enough to land a top talent like Cooper Flagg, and likely stands a bit out of reach for highly-acclaimed names like Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. A tough blow for the Jazz and their rebuild, but for Jazz general manager Justin Zanik, there's still a lot of value to be had in this class outside of the first few spots.

"We're gonna have a lot to look at to see what's the best fit for our team," Zanik said following the lottery. "I mean, it could be anywhere from eight or nine different players in that range. So that's that part is really exciting."

It's a wide open field for the Jazz when taking an early look at who they could scoop up at pick five, if they opt to stay put with their selection.

Initial projections have gone a variety of ways. Texas' Tre Johnson has been a popular prospect with some of the best scoring qualities in the class. Duke's Kon Knueppel isn't Flagg, but could pan out as the best pure shooter on the board. Oklahoma's Jeremiah Fears, Illinois' Kasparas Jakucionis, and even Arizona's Carter Bryant have tended to get some love for the Jazz as well.

All of that's to say that there's a lot of talent on the board falling past the top two to three slots on the board, as there is with pretty much any draft class. It just falls on the Jazz to find that best available fit with the cards they've been dealt.

It's preparing to be a wildly fascinating draft season for the Jazz. Time will tell how the chaos ends up shaking out.