The Utah Jazz are in a rare, downright superb position with the No. 2 pick in a loaded draft class. It's hard to see how they could possibly mess this up with the amount of talented prospects available. However, they may also try to move up to get the one guy that's clearly been on their radar since well before the lottery: AJ Dybantsa.
Everyone could pretty much see that coming, and they've already immediately looked into it.Andscape's Marc J. Spears reported that the Jazz have inquired about acquiring the first overall pick from the Wizards
"Dybantsa is the top prospect in the draft, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Woo. The Jazz have reached out to the Washington Wizards, who have the No. 1 pick, about potentially trading up to land the former BYU standout, a source said," Spears wrote.
This draft class is loaded that there's a chance that Utah won't even have to trade up to get their hands on Dybantsa because of how impressive the top four players are in this class besides him. Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson make up a fearsome quartet of excellent young talent that could change a franchise's fortunes around in no time.
At the same time, the Wizards are smart enough to know that the Jazz would want Dybantsa, and will likely demand a King's ransom to start in any trade discussions. There's little reason for Utah to succumb to their demands, but this should make for quite a staring contest.
Expect these whispers to grow stronger
Washington has the leverage in negotiations like these, as they know the interest between Dybantsa and Utah is very much mutual. At the same time, the widespread talent among the prospects shouldn't make Utah lose sleep if they get a deal done.
The Wizards have every reason to demand as much possible just like the Jazz have every reason to give up a little as possible. So this should make for quite a game of chicken with both sides leaking as much as they can to get the most favorable outcome possible.
The bar should be set around what Danny Ainge did the last time he had such a high pick in 2017. When the Boston Celtics won the lottery, they agreed to swap picks with the Philadelphia 76ers where they would get the No. 3 pick along with another unprotected first-rounder from the Sacramento Kings.
Utah still has plenty of assets left over even after making the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade. Plus, even if Dybantsa is the consensus No. 1 pick, he's not head and shoulder better than everybody, so it may cost more for the Jazz to move up than it did for the Sixers, or it might not.
Because it's not surprising in the slightest that the Jazz are already looking into trading up to get Dybantsa, don't be surprised if both sides turn up the heat between now and the end of June.
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