Jazz Notes Mailbag: Should Utah Trade Out Of The Fifth Pick?
May 26, 2025, 3:51 PM
Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge and Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith watch the Utah Jazz play the Oklahoma City Thunder in their final NBA home game of the season at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, April 11, 2025. The Jazz lost 145-111. 9Photo courtesy of Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – Welcome to the Utah Jazz mailbag, where this week we explore the prospect of trading out of the fifth pick in the draft if trading up falls through.
Each week, we will send out a prompt on X and BlueSky asking for the questions you have about the Jazz.
Then, we’ll respond in that week’s Jazz mailbag.
Jazz Mailbag: Should Jazz Trade Down In The Draft?
Is there a scenario where the Jazz trade down? Feels like there’s a cliff after 4?
— Jimbo Slice (@JimboRudding) May 26, 2025
Question: Is there a scenario where the Jazz trade down? Feels like there’s a cliff after 4?
Answer: Even before the Jazz officially landed the No. 5 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, conversations about trading up had already started.
That brings up an interesting counterpoint — if Utah can’t move up, or if another team beats them to the punch, should they consider trading out of the pick entirely to stockpile more assets?
In short, it’s probably not the best idea. However, there is definitely a scenario where something like that happens.
The 2025 #NBADraftLottery presented by State Farm Results! pic.twitter.com/rk5R8IVurT
— NBA (@NBA) May 12, 2025
It has been reported that San Antonio is eyeing Dylan Harper with the No. 2 pick. If they were to trade, it would likely be for Giannis Antetokounmpo or someone of that caliber.
Philadelphia is rumored to be interested in trading the third overall pick. However, it would likely take Lauri Markkanen to get that deal done. So, if the Jazz are unwilling to part ways with their all-star to get into the top three, they’re left with two options. Pick at five or trade it.
Players like Tre Johnson and Kon Knueppel would come in and help Utah’s youth movement from day one — there’s no question about that. There also isn’t really much of a debate that those players aren’t on the level of a Harper or Cooper Flagg.
In all likelihood, Utah will make its selection and gear up for the next steps. With that said, it is definitely a possibility that a team in the late lottery, or even a non-lottery team looking to shuffle the deck, would really like the upside of Johnson or the win-now potential of Knueppel.
A team with a lot of uncertainty around it is the Boston Celtics. With Jayson Tatum’s injury and a playoff exit leaving a bad taste in their mouth, they could be looking to make a big splash. In theory, Knueppel would fare well in Boston’s 3pt-centric offense. They might even have an interest in Johnson if they decide to move on from Jaylen Brown and/or Jrue Holiday.
This is just one example of how the Jazz could use the fifth pick to make a big splash with the fifth pick.
Not saying this is a good trade or that either side would be dying to make it happen, more just showcasing Utah’s flexibility.
Trading out of the No. 5 pick is a real conversation the Jazz could have. pic.twitter.com/I89NhCFkca
— Chandler Holt (@CHoltSports) May 26, 2025
An important thing to keep in mind: Utah should only trade the pick if it is in a win-now move to bring in an All-Star-level player.
Trading the pick for unproven young players or more picks would undermine the work that was put into guaranteeing a top-5 pick last season.
To wrap it all up, there is a world where the Jazz trade out of the No. 5 pick — and doing so would likely signal a recalibration of the franchise’s goals moving forward.
