It happened. The Utah Jazz moved up in the NBA Draft Lottery. After three years of soul-searching, serial-killer-esque bulletin-boarding, and mass panic flowing through the bloodstream of every resident in the greater Salt Lake City area (you remember), all of the tanking has been worth it. An empty viewing experience, hoping your team loses every one of 246 regular-season games, is not good for the spirit, nor is it healthy for a fanbase to see its star players build a white picket fence and lay brick
and mortar around their designated seat on the bench.
The Utah Jazz will select second overall in the 2026 NBA Draft, happily awaiting the gourmet table scraps of whichever 5-star entree the Washington Wizards avoid. Smiling through it all. I can’t believe this is my life.
By any measure, AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson will be the number-one pick. It’s an inevitability, like eating a second potato chip or some vaguely successful movie from the 2000s getting a sequel and/or reboot (looking at you, The Devil Wears Prada 2: It’s All Gucci, Fam, or whatever that movie is called).
Though BYU’s star holds the edge, Peterson is likewise considered to be a player of number-one quality. A potential All-NBA mainstay, with an annual appearance on MVP ballots. On the SLC Dunk Draft Board, we ranked Dybantsa and Peterson 1A and 1B, respectively, for one simple reason: they’re both so darn good.
So drafting second overall is almost a blessing. You get all the excitement of picking a potential franchise cornerstone, and none of the pressure of “picking the right guy”. Whether Washington takes Dybantsa or Peterson, Utah can lean back in the tranquility of their war room and take whoever remains.
This year’s number-two pick is practically as valuable as the one above it. That’s a rare luxury.
Of course, our relaxation was rudely interrupted by rumors of a shakeup in the order, as Jake Fischer’s conversation with Michael Winger, president of the Wizards, sparked a thousand aggregations.
[Winger] insisted that this is ‘not a savior moment’ for Washington, given that the franchise just traded for two former All-Stars in Trae Young and Anthony Davis on top of the slew of recent lottery picks it already has accumulated. He added that, in accordance with Wizards general manager Will Dawkins’ prospect evaluations, Washington will not rule out a move downward if Dawkins determines there are two or three players that the Wizards are eager to come away with.”
Sigh.
It was only a matter of moments before the Utah Jazz — noted AJ Dybantsa fanboys — were rumored to take a shot at prying Washington away from their spot atop the ladder.
Ryan Smith’s comments on the Pat McAfee Show only tossed lighter fluid onto the already-aflame dumpster of draft speculation.
“It would be irresponsible if everything wasn’t on the table,” Smith told McAfee on ESPN, though noting that the decision would be Austin and Danny Ainge’s to make.
I’m here to plant my flag in the earth. Utah Jazz, do not trade up.
Draw the shades. Lock the doors. Disconnect the phone lines. Unplug the internet router. Sequester whoever you must to absolutely ensure that the second overall pick does not leave the premises of the Delta Center until it’s announced over the podium at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. You cannot go wrong with either Darryn Peterson or AJ Dybantsa, so don’t waste your assets when you’re already guaranteed a chance with either of them.
Peterson slots perfectly alongside Keyonte George in the starting lineup, standing at 6’6” in shoes with a scorer’s mentality and a demonic streak on the defensive end. The Kansas star could effortlessly round out Will Hardy’s starting 5, with Ace Bailey the first man off the pine.
But if Washington goes all alt-rock on us and dodges Dybantsa, you won’t hear any teeth gnashing in the Beehive State. A player who has spent his last two years of life living in Utah, Dybantsa would be a gigantic 6’9” shooting guard, making the Jazz perhaps the tallest starting 5 in NBA history.
And both players could someday be MVPs.
Call me overzealous, but adding either player to an already dangerous core of George, Bailey, Markkanen, Jackson Jr., Kessler, Sensabaugh, and Williams makes the Jazz a top-four team in the Western Conference next season. This was the ultimate goal of the tank all along, right?
Washington’s asking price will be very high — this ain’t no Zaccharie Risacher draft pool, God rest his soul. If the Jazz want to step up, it will cost them dearly. How far would you go to jump from 2 to 1? A future first-round pick? Two? Ace Bailey? Why give Washington anything when you get an elite prospect either way?
Again, I urge you: don’t you dare trade up, Utah.
Sarah Todd stepped in to stamp down any rumors of interest on both Utah’s and Washington’s end. “When they say things like ‘yeah, we’re going to be willing to listen to offers for the pick’, they can’t say anything else, right?”
“Both AJ and Darryn Peterson look like they have the potential to be MVP-type players. […] The Wizards are not going to disappoint their fans; they’re going to pick number one. The Jazz are probably not going to disappoint their fans; they’re going to get an excellent player with the number-two pick.”
Stay out of your own way, Utah, and stay on course. Pick second overall and leave the NBA Draft as a winner.
