Former NBA exec ranks Jazz among top teams with most first-round picks
By Matt John
This just in: the Utah Jazz have a boatload of first-round picks. This also just in: a few other teams have a similar boatload of first-round picks.
Therefore, ESPN's Bobby Marks ranked the Jazz among the top five NBA teams with the most draft assets. The basis of that is how well they made out with the Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert trades.
However, among the five teams named, the Jazz were No. 4, behind the Spurs, Thunder, and Nets. The Jazz edged out the Rockets in the rankings for No. 4.
Why the Jazz places at No. 4
After outlining what the Jazz have given up and what their most valuable assets are, Marks explained why they are behind some of the others, particularly the Thunder.
"The Jazz continue to sit in a holding pattern. Out of the seven first-round picks acquired in the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell blockbuster trades, only one has been conveyed. Utah drafted guard Keyonte George with the 2023 first-round pick from Minnesota.
"Utah does have the same number of first-round picks as the Thunder, including five unprotected, but it lacks a franchise player to fast forward its rebuild."
Though the Jazz have a lot of assets, Marks brought up his concern with the assets both the Timberwolves and Cavaliers owe the Jazz for the next several years.
"The Jazz could be impacted also by the value of the Cavaliers' and Timberwolves' first-round picks, too. Cleveland extended Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley this offseason. Meanwhile Minnesota returns the same starting five who reached the conference finals last season. Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaden McDaniels are also under contract through at least the 2027-28 season."
Marks also brought up how valuable the Lakers pick could be down the line.
"Utah has an unprotected first-round pick from each team in 2025. Its most valuable first could be from the Lakers in 2027. Although it is a protected top-5, there is no guarantee LeBron James will be on the roster in 2026-27 since the four-time NBA champion, who turns 40 on Dec. 30, has indicated that the end of his playing career is drawing near."
The Jazz could try that again sometime down the line if the Lakers are desperate for some of the Jazz's valuable players on their roster like Collin Sexton and Walker Kessler.
Regardless of how things end up, this doesn't detract from the fact that even if they're not seeing success right now, the Jazz have an excellent safety net that provides them with so many options.
Next year, it could be a completely different story regarding how valuable those picks are, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll change in a good way.