Everyone knows that the Utah Jazz's tank goes beyond getting another golden prospect, but also to avoid handing it over to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Derrick Favors salary dump trade from 2021 still looms large; if the pick falls outside the top eight, it goes to the reigning champions.
The Jazz have responded well to this specific challenge, putting themselves in an excellent position to keep the pick (Note: this is the last year the Thunder are eligible to get the Jazz's pick). The Thunder would be right to be unhappy that it turned out they couldn't get the pick in the end, but at the same time, if the Jazz succeed in keeping it, they are also doing the Thunder a favor.
Tulsa World's Berry Tramel revealed on KSL Sports' DJ & PK that while the Thunder aren't too thrilled with what the Jazz are doing, they're largely okay with it because it helps a problem in OKC: too many draft picks with too few roster spots.
Tramel revealed that even if OKC doesn't get Utah's pick, they will still get the Los Angeles Clippers and (likely) Philadelphia 76ers picks (both of which will likely be middle of the first round).
The Jazz's pick would have been more valuable than Philadelphia's or LA's to OKC, but because of their pick problem and the fact that they can fall back on the picks those two teams owe them, it's not like it would be the worst fate in the world if the pick doesn't convey this season.
Besides, it's not like OKC's future depends on Utah
Even if the Thunder got the Jazz's pick, it wouldn't be some key ingredient that would put them over the top because, as everyone knows, they already did that. No, a high lottery pick like the Jazz's going to the Thunder is more of a "rich get richer" situation.
For example, a millionaire would obviously prefer not to lose a hundred-dollar bill, but they're not losing any sleep over it. The Thunder are still going to be one of the NBA's best teams for the foreseeable future, no matter what draft assets come their way.
If anything, this situation has been more painful for the Jazz than for OKC because they're the ones doing all the losing, in part due to a move they would likely take back if they ever got the chance. The fact that the Jazz's tanking somewhat does the Thunder a favor with their roster crunch should only make Utah feel better about the direction they took this season.