The Cleveland Cavaliers' semi-tailspin has been beautiful for the Utah Jazz to see in real time. While not bad, the Cavaliers are not the same team they have been for the last three years. This bodes well for the unprotected pick they owe the Jazz next year, but it could also help them this year, but only on two conditions.
1. The Jazz keep their pick (still very much in the air).
2. The Cavaliers finish worse than them (even less likely to happen).
KSL Sports' Ben Anderson outlined the scenario when asked about it in a mailbag.
"As a quick reminder: the Jazz hold the right to swap their 2026 draft pick with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ pick if Cleveland’s pick lands higher... But here’s the complication: the Jazz’s own draft pick goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it falls outside the top eight. How does that affect things?... The answer is straightforward. The Jazz must own their pick in order to swap it. The Cavaliers didn’t send the Jazz their pick outright; they sent only the swap rights. That guarantees Cleveland still owns at least one first‑round pick this summer," Anderson wrote.
The Cavaliers are 19-16. They are currently 16th among NBA teams and No. 8 in the Eastern Conference. Hoping they will get worse enough to help the Jazz's pick is pretty wishful thinking, but entering the season, this seemed like the most outlandish scenario to begin with. It's still outlandish, but now, it's elevated from outlandish impossibility to outlandish possibility.
The Jazz would have to embrace the tank for this to happen
Utah has seemingly gone back and forth. Some stretches, it feels like they will inevitably turn into a similar tanking product that fans saw last season. Other stretches, it feels like they are good enough to compete with the best of the best.
With the season about to reach its halfway point, Utah must decide what route they want to go. It would be a whole lot easier if it weren't for the fact that the Jazz are in danger of giving a lottery pick to Oklahoma City. If that weren't enough incentive, the Cavaliers potentially negating the Jazz's notorious bad luck in the lottery gives them more, even if it's not likely they would be in that position.
It is tantalizing to think about the Donovan Mitchell trade potentially getting them a high lottery pick no matter how unlikely that would be. Luckily, even if it doesn't play out like that, next year's Cavaliers pick becomes a lot more exciting if they continue to tailspin.