Because of the massive Luka Doncic trade, everything about it has been given a huge scope, including the Utah Jazz's participation—even if that participation involved getting Jalen Hood-Schifino, who they've wanted for a while.
However, this trade shocked even the Jazz themselves before it all went down. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon reported that Utah didn't fully understand what they were getting themselves into when they agreed to take part in the trade.
"Even the Utah Jazz, the third team that facilitated the transaction by collecting two second-round picks for absorbing Jalen Hood-Schifino, didn't know Doncic and Davis were a part of the deal until about an hour before it was completed, league sources said," Shelburne and MacMahon wrote.
From the sounds of things, the Jazz believed they were making a straight-up deal with the Lakers: They would get Hood-Schifino along with some second-round picks, and that was it. Shelburne added further details about how little notice Danny Ainge had beforehand.
"Even Jazz President, Danny Ainge...had only about 30 minutes notice, sources said, that Los Angeles was about to acquire Doncic to be the new face of its franchise."
Does this change how the Jazz fared in the trade?
Perhaps the better question is, does this intel make the trade itself a rip-off for Utah? Not really. If they hadn't been the third team, it would have been somebody else, but it shows that the bewilderment that stemmed from this trade extended to quite literally everyone in the NBA.
For the Jazz, this was simply an opportunity to take a buy-low candidate that they've had their eyes on. This does impact their draft capital. Still, this deal would have affected the pick the Los Angeles Lakers owe the Jazz in 2027, regardless of whether they were involved.
The funny thing is, Ainge has a reputation for being a little sneaky with his deals, and while he didn't get ripped off in this trade, it is funny to see that, for once, he was involved in something that even someone like him didn't see coming.
This also won't stop the Jazz from getting involved in trades like this regardless. They could be more than happy to get involved in a trade featuring LeBron James even if they don't get him as long as it leads to them getting something they want, and they don't have to give up anything valuable in the process.
The Jazz have been one of the more active NBA teams leading up to the trade deadline. Expect more chaos to ensue, even if they didn't mean to create said chaos.