Ryan Smith on Utah Jazz No. 2 overall pick: “Everything is on the table”
May 11, 2026, 1:26 PM
Ryan Smith, chairman and CEO of Smith Entertainment Group and governor of the Utah Jazz, speaks during the Utah Jazz media day at the Zions Bank Basketball Campus in Salt Lake City on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News)
(Photo courtesy of Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — The odds were in favor of the Utah Jazz in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery as the team walked away with the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming draft.
Team owner Ryan Smith joined the Pat McAfee Show on Monday to talk about the outcome and what is next as the NBA offseason and pre-draft process progress.
Joining us NOW @RyanQualtrics 👏 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/tUBdTY8G0r
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 11, 2026
Smith started by giving his flowers to the other decision-makers in the Jazz front office.
First of all, I’ve hired a pretty good team here with Danny Ainge and Austin (Ainge). They’ve got a pretty good track record of how they handle the lottery. As an owner myself, it’s a really interesting thing because I want to be involved, but Danny (Ainge) has made a living off of over-involved owners.
Front office politics aside, Smith and the Jazz higher-ups are well aware of the fortune they have come across.
He sympathized with the Pacers’ President of Basketball Operations, Kevin Pritchard, after Indiana fell out of the top four and lost their pick to the Clippers, noting that they faced similar situations in recent years.
But now with the No. 2 pick, Smith explained that the franchise will leave no stone unturned when it comes to using this pick in a way that could help bring the Larry O’Brien Trophy to Utah.
Our ultimate goal is to build a championship. It would be irresponsible if everything wasn’t on the table. That’s kind of our job.
— Chandler Holt (@CHoltSports) May 11, 2026
That statement is interesting and worth a double-take. On the surface, one might think that just means that each of the top four guys will be seriously considered with that second pick.
But it likely goes deeper than that. The Jazz could absolutely look to trade the pick. That could mean moving up, moving down, or even moving out of the draft entirely.
Utah could put together a package to move up one spot with Washington, move down a pick or two to stack assets while still landing their guy, or, as an even larger wildcard, attach the second pick to other assets in a blockbuster trade.
Still, the most likely outcome is that Utah stands pat at No. 2 and takes the best player available.
There’s a lot of time between now and then to see how things go. We’ll sit down and go through it. The good news is, if you look at the top half of this draft, it’s pretty incredible. There could be a few seven to 10-time All-Stars.
The next 43 days until the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft are sure to be hectic for the Jazz front office. Though surely a welcome chaos.
