Step two: get all the 2023 draft picks you can
In order to maximize the lottery odds, the Utah Jazz will have to make the biggest gamble in NBA history. The franchise will have to trade almost all of their future picks to get as many high lottery picks in the upcoming draft. To do so, I suggest that Utah look to San Antonio and Houston.
Both teams are several years away from competing, and both teams are, at this point, trying to get as many draft picks as possible.
The Jazz got four picks for Donovan Mitchell in my hypothetical trade earlier, and they got four in the very real Rudy Gobert trade. Are four future picks worth losing for one lottery pick? In this loaded draft class, absolutely. Even if the Jazz miss out on Victor Wembanyama, there are still franchise-saving players at the top like Scoot Henderson, Nick Smith, and Anthony Black. All of those guys are insanely good, and with picks from Houston, San Antonio, and their own, Utah could get multiple of those guys. I suggest the Jazz pull off two trades to get the best picks possible.
Would the Spurs and Rockets go for it? Probably. Both teams are several years out, and the Jazz have the supporting cast to build a winner now, provided they have the right star. San Antonio and Houston each get four future picks to salivate over, and Jazz basketball could be back as soon as 2023-24.
If the Jazz are serious about rebuilding, this is a drastic, but smart, way to go about it. They could stay the course they are on and see what happens. There’s merit to that, but it could be time to turn the franchise upside down.