A strange report claims the Utah Jazz were indifferent to potentially losing their first-round pick
By Chad Porto
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The Utah Jazz got the second-worst outcome possible this offseason, as it pertains to their draft positioning. Sitting with the 8th best odds to land the first overall pick, the Utah Jazz needed to remain in the Top 10 to retain their pick. If they fell to 11 or later in the draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder would then take ownership of the pick.
The Jazz didn't lose their pick to the Thunder, thankfully, but they did fall two spots from the projected eighth pick to the tenth pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. The literal second-worst-case scenario for the team. Considering the Utah Jazz tanked this season away, and traded away key players just to land this pick, you'd think they'd be more bothered about where it fell.
According to Zach Lowe of ESPN (via Bleacher Report), that was anything but the case.
""In the weeks leading to Sunday, even officials from teams who stood to potentially lose their first-round picks depending on the luck of the draw—the Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors among them—seemed indifferent to the results.""
Indifferent to the results of the NBA Lottery? That's somewhat new to hear. It's not great either, as I was every bit as ready to start calling for the resignations of key team officials if they did all that losing just to not keep their own first-round pick.
Now, it should be mentioned that the Jazz's front office is going into this offseason with the idea that they're going to land a major player or two, so they may not be putting much stock in the draft. Or at the very least, they may believe that the player they want will be there regardless of who goes ahead of them.
Still, it's a bit disconcerting that one of the most important drafts for this front office was seen with such disinterest from those running the team.
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