We have every reason to praise the Utah Jazz for making the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade until it gives a reason to think otherwise. There have been so many indirect benefits from it, including the fact that getting him makes what would be a tough decision for the Jazz much easier: passing on Cameron Boozer.
Boozer is considered on or close to the same level as AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson. In fact, there's even a chance he might go No. 1 over those two despite the fact that those two are regularly seen interchangebly as the first and second overall pick in the draft.
Luckily for the Jazz, acquiring JJJ makes it easier for them to say no to Boozer, despite his talent, because the frontcourt is too loaded for him to get some actual playing time. That has nothing to do with how good he is, but simply because the Jazz's wing and guard rotation aren't nearly as crowded for Dybantsa or Peterson to slide into.
That's why it's in Utah's best interest to take whoever is left between Dybantsa and Peterson. JJJ (along with a presumably re-signed Walker Kessler) makes it so that he and Boozer together would make the frontcourt too crowded. If he weren't on the Jazz's roster, then a decision like this would be much harder to pick between the three.
It's like how a classic Pokémon game starts with three of them to choose from. There is no wrong answer, but in this case, if you know ahead of time that one of the most vital Pokémon you will get in due time is the same type as one of your choices at the start, that makes the decision even easier to make.
Boozer may still wind up incredible, but it may not matter
There's a nonzero chance the Jazz may regret passing on Boozer when they had the chance, but that is what the draft is all about. Especially in a case like this, where there are three game-changing prospects on the board.
No matter what, the Jazz are going to get one of them. In a way, it's reminiscent of last year where everyone was freaking out because Utah didn't get the No. 1 pick. Little did they realize that last year's class had quite a few excellent prospects, so getting Ace Bailey with the No. 5 pick made everyone forget about their bad luck at the draft pretty quickly.
It won't matter if the four players picked ahead of him turn out better. Bailey is talented enough that no one will have a problem if he's getting them playoff wins.
Even if Boozer winds up the best player from this draft, Dybantsa or Peterson will be good enough that the Jazz should have no reason to care if that's how things shake out. One team may get Boozer, while the other gets JJJ and a franchise cornerstone.
If anyone says the Jazz got the short end of the stick there, they don't know what they're talking about.
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