Regardless of how last night turned out, the honeymoon phase between Darryn Peterson and the Utah Jazz is still very much alive and well. Peterson has very much looked the part of a franchise cornerstone since the Summer League started, and it gets even crazier: Peterson was going to be Utah's pick no matter what!
What does that mean exactly? The Athletic's Tony Jones revealed that even before they had the chance to take him with the No. 2 pick, Peterson was their guy no matter what, despite how loaded the front four of the 2026 NBA Draft class was.
"When you talk about the margins, the talent gap between Dybantsa, Peterson and Memphis Grizzlies forward Cameron Boozer is razor-thin. You can even add Chicago Bulls forward Caleb Wilson to that group. All four possessed No. 1-pick ability. That made the decision difficult. By the end of the pre-draft process, however, the Jazz had settled on Peterson. Even if they had won the lottery, they would have taken him first," Jones wrote.
This is more surprising than you think because many believed that, given his history with the state and Ryan Smith, Utah would have taken AJ Dybantsa if they had the No. 1 pick. After last night, they wouldn't have been wrong in the slightest.
But the fact that they would have picked Peterson regardless shows they knew exactly what they were getting before he even had the chance to show himself. Peterson addressed their needs better than Dybantsa would have, but it's clear why they took him went beyond that.
This fits Danny Ainge's MO to a tee
Jazz fans should know full well by now that Ainge knows how to draft. Back in Boston, many questioned why he took Jaylen Brown with the No. 3 pick. Even more people questioned why he not only traded down from the No. 1 pick, but used it on Jayson Tatum. There's a reason why, nowadays, that looks ridiculous.
The point is, when Ainge finds someone he likes, he is more often than not proven to be on the money about the prospect. Peterson had some risk, but not nearly as much as some of those other ones, and even still, the Jazz clearly believed he was the future cornerstone they were looking for.
Peterson still has yet to show what he can do when he make his NBA debut, but it's easy to see why he was so easy to pick at No. 2 that picking him at No. 1 would have made sense as well even if there would have been questions.
Jazz fans, it was definitely gloom and doom for a few years, but the team knew where it was going, and now, Utah has their most promising upfront future since the Deron Williams days. Buckle up!
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