A pretty big bombshell landed the other day when it was revealed that Darryn Peterson canceled a workout with the Utah Jazz due to his confidence that the Washington Wizards will pick him first overall. Whether that does or not, the latest Trae Young trade rumors may feed into that, as it may be further evidence the Wizards will pick Peterson.
Jake Fischer revealed that the Miami Heat have Young on their radar. This seems revealing because Young and Peterson are both guards.
While the expectation remains that Trae Young will find a new, longer-term agreement with the Wizards, sources say several teams — including Miami — are considering trade avenues to add the four-time All-Star guard, while Washington mulls its decision regarding next week’s No. 1…
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 16, 2026
Young is one of the NBA's best playmakers that Washington managed to acquire for pennies back in February, but he is also one of the league's most ball-dominant guards, which could limit the amount of touches Peterson would get. That wouldn't be a problem if Washington were to trade Young.
If they do, that would be a good indication that Peterson is their pick. That would leave the Jazz with either AJ Dybantsa or Cameron Boozer to choose from. No one's necessarily rooting against Peterson joining the Jazz, but it would be exciting to get a sneak peek as to what their options will be before the draft even starts.
Wizards may take Peterson & keep Young
It's entirely possible that the Wizards will simply roll the dice with both of them, come what may. The Jazz would understand as they are more or less executing the same strategy of having both stars ready to win now and young prospects that have the talent to become stars down the line.
It's also possible that they trade Young and pass on Peterson, although such a strategy, even if it's what they do, makes the Young trade feel pointless for them in the first place.
Either way, rumors like these are nothing to sneeze at because they could influence what happens at draft night. We all know how the top three prospects in this draft are, but it's still not known what order they will be picked.
That's why Utah is paying close attention to what Washington does because it will influence who they want with the No. 2 pick. Peterson addresses the Jazz's current biggest need, though Dybantsa is considered perhaps the draft's biggest can't-miss prospect.
Washington trading Young could be a very telling sign of what they plan to do. Regardless, I will sound like a broken record when I say that there's no wrong choice here for Utah. There's only the choice the Jazz will have to make when one of those two are off the board.
Add us as a preferred source on Google