2026 NBA Draft Lottery Preview: Utah Jazz
Nathan and Stephen discuss their monumental decision of who the Utah Jazz should take with the #2 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery.
Stephen: Things didn’t go quite as expected for the Utah Jazz in the NBA Draft Lottery, but they got the second-best outcome by walking away with the #2 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. There are countless reasons why the Utah Jazz would want to bring AJ Dybantsa–with the ties to BYU and him playing for Utah Prep in high school. But there is a high likelihood that AJ will be the #1 pick (despite us constantly being assured that the pick is still undecided). If that is the case, then there is a discussion to be had regarding “Best Fit” vs. other connections to the team.
Utah hired their former player, Carlos Boozer, to work within their front office in a scouting capacity. To quote Brian Windhorst: “Now, why would they do that?!” Doesn’t it seem quite convenient that the Jazz would bring in Carlos to be a scout just months prior to his son, Cameron Boozer, playing for the Duke Blue Devils? I mean, this is a pretty similar playbook that the New York Knicks ran to bring in Jalen Brunson. Is Boozer the cleanest fit for Utah? No. Things will have to change, but why in the world do we use phrases like “take the best player available” from one side of our mouths, but then say things like: “Well, Utah already has Jaren Jackson and Lauri Markkanen”?
Obviously, I understand why. The Jazz invested a ton of capital in bringing in Jaren, so they likely want to see that through. However, Lauri has been involved in trade rumors for year–so why can’t Boozer “be next” in that spot? If there are people who genuinely feel like Cam is good enough to be the #1 pick in this top-heavy draft and be one of the better players in the NBA, then why do we care who is on what roster?
But, there is another option Utah could go with in Darryn Peterson. This pick is a little cleaner with Utah’s roster–and there are people (such as me) who have Peterson as the top prospect in this draft class. Keyonte George made a major stride this season, but there isn’t much high-end backcourt depth for the Jazz. That’s where Peterson could make a ton of sense by being the pick for this franchise.
With this being their only pick in the draft, it feels like there is an added layer of pressure to get this pick right–especially considering the talent that is still going to be on the board. So, Nathan, if you’re running the Jazz, which way do you take this team?
Nathan: If I’m running the Utah Jazz, I’m in agreement with your premise on this being an easy pick given how the board has fallen.
I want to be clear: I have Cameron Boozer as the top overall player on my board, and would still consider him in this spot despite the frontcourt talent of Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Ace Bailey on the roster.
However, sometimes players just go to where they’re supposed to: the franchise that’s best for them. I believe, based on my evaluation, that Darryn Peterson’s best chance at becoming the player many believe he can become is with Utah.
Let me explain, because I don’t want that to be confused with the notion that Peterson would flame out anywhere outside of the Jazz. That’s not my opinion at all.
But I do recognize Peterson’s weak points right now as a basketball player on offense. I’ve studied his tape at Kansas and going back to his HS days at Prolific Prep. What I’ve noticed is a lack of nuance in the pick-and-roll game that doesn’t move me when comparing where he is now to how much further he needs to get, as far as matching the best ball-dominant players in the game today. Peterson is a force when healthy and able to turn the corner on a ball screen. Because of how much attention he garners after turning the corner, easy passing lanes can open up for him, or he can take it to the paint and pull up or score at the rim. Peterson even showed at times, especially in HS, that when he has that top-tier burst, he can catch defenders asleep and reject a ball screen up top and blast his way inside the arc for an easy finish.
What I didn’t see enough of from what I studied were the little things in pick-and-roll offense. If he couldn’t just take an easy lane, I didn’t see enough of the craft in terms of changing gears, reading those second and third levels, and making more complex passing reads. His idea of playing with the ball in his hands is scoring first and foremost. Not that he can’t pass, because his assist numbers would’ve been better at Kansas if some of his teammates knocked down some shots more often, but it’s definitely an area of his game that requires improvement.
That becomes tricky if Peterson isn’t the same force that he was at Prolific Prep. Now, everything we’ve heard about Darryn over the last few weeks points to NBA teams not being worried at all about his medicals, and that it won’t affect his position in the draft. If that’s the case, then maybe some of my concerns go away sooner than I anticipate because he’ll be an option to play more on the ball right out of the gate in his career.
BUT…if he’s not ready to captain an NBA offense as a “point guard” right away, going to a system like Utah’s that ran the third-fewest pick-and-rolls under Will Hardy last season would be a major benefit to bringing him along slowly in that regard while still force-feeding him plenty of touches to do what he does best: score the rock.
Peterson may very well end up being the best pure scoring prospect I’ve evaluated over the last 15 years. Even at Kansas, while he was hampered, teams would force him into the shots they wanted him to take, and he’d drill enough of those looks right in their face. The only way to really limit his production was when he ran pick-and-roll. Because he wasn’t able to turn the corner on those ball screens and take the same wider angles he could at lower levels, it made him a favorable blitz to where the ball was forced out of his hands. But if Peterson got his chance to work in isolation, he made teams pay in one-on-one coverage.
And for that reason, I totally understand why you have him where you do on your board, Stephen, and why I’ve been back and forth about how I value him as a player. Regardless of his personal evaluation, this Jazz team needs more shooting in the worst way. Hopefully, that’s addressed with continued development from young talent on the roster, plus the addition of Jackson and another dynamic guard in Peterson.
Stephen, what are your feelings on Peterson as a member of the Jazz, and would you consider a player like Caleb Wilson in this spot, who I know you also have ranked fairly high on your board? What about possibly trading up with the Washington Wizards to #1 overall to acquire AJ Dybantsa, even if that meant giving another pick in the deal AND possibly last year’s Top 5 pick in Bailey?
Stephen: I’ll start with the trade potential here, Nathan. In terms of trading up or back, I would say “no” based on what the smokescreens are suggesting. With it seeming likely that AJ Dybantsa is going to be the #1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, I’d stay out. Darryn Peterson is–and has been–my #1 player on the board. To the point you made earlier, Nathan, Peterson’s “down year” saw him drop 20.2 PPG on 44/39/83 splits, and this season couldn’t have possibly placed more obstacles in his path.
From the well-chronicled body cramp saga, to the wishy-washy comments from his coach, to the fact that he was one of two starters who shot over 35% from deep this season, Darryn went blow-for-blow with the top performances in this draft class. I’m in agreement with you on how well he was as a scorer this season. He ranked in the 99th percentile on spot-ups (shot 53.3% from deep on those looks). He also shot over 47% on hand-off threes. Oh, and over 38% shooting off screens. So, not only is a threat off of a stand-still, but he has movement shooting ability that opens the floor up for others.
When I went back to my offseason notes, I had some similar notes as to his playmaking. There were a ton of flashes to be encouraging, but he “plays at one speed–can he slow down? Where is his decel?” Those notes showed in his one season at Kansas to be sure, but that was far from being a growth environment for a number of reasons. Even if he isn’t a lead guard, I do feel like he can pose problems on attacking a scrambling defense on the second side. And, with him, Keyonte, Ace, Lauri, and Jaren, there is going to be floor-spacing for him to attack–and he did rank in the 89th percentile in isolation.
The offense for Darryn is scintillating, but he also brings a ton of positional defensive upside. There were moments this year, Nathan, where he floored me with the reads he made on the ball, in rotations–even making plays on the ball in the air. Let’s not forget that Peterson is a very strong guard here. He’s also quite agile, and tested accordingly at the combine. That showed on the film, too, where Darryn forced 49 stocks (steals and blocks) to just 37 fouls committed. He was also one of just 14 players in college basketball of his height or shorter to have a Steal and Block percentage of at least 2.0.
In terms of the possibility of Caleb Wilson going here…Listen, I love Caleb Wilson. There aren’t going to be many people that you’ll find who have Caleb ranked over Cam Boozer in the world. However, as much as I love him, I have AJ and Darryn in my top two, and in a tier of their own, and Darryn is my #1 prospect. In this draft, I am not drafting anyone over Darryn–and no one outside of Dybantsa is even going to make me pause to think about it. Respectfully.
How about you, Nathan? Close us out here with what you think about a possible trade–or even a Caleb Wilson swing here.
Nathan: I’ll state again that I think Darryn Peterson is the sure-fire pick if AJ Dybantsa is off the board for the Utah Jazz. He just makes so much sense in this offense with this roster—while having one of, if not the best, upside of any player in this entire class, should more of those worries fade and the playmaking comes together.
If I were to entertain a non-guard or wing at this spot, it would certainly present questions for the rest of my roster in the short term. Is there a trade out there for Lauri Markkanen that would make sense for the Jazz? An offer from a team that would give up considerable assets out of desperation—like the Golden State Warriors, for example? Is there some way to pull off a deal with the Detroit Pistons to extract considerable assets, even if (from my viewpoint) the money makes any pre-draft deal fairly difficult to do?
As awesome as it would be to see Cameron Boozer (or even Caleb Wilson) come off the bench and bolster the frontcourt depth of what could be one of the Western Conference’s most exciting cores next season, it would require some sort of roster maneuvers for it to work. Unless that drafted player would be willing to embrace a Dylan Harper-like role and happily come off the bench for the good of the team, I’m not benching any of Lauri Markkanen or Jaren Jackson Jr. in favor of a rookie—no matter how good they are.
All of this comes back to Peterson and Dybantsa, because I am NOT trading out of the second overall pick, nor do I see the gap in talent enough to trade a player like Ace Bailey plus another future pick to go up to No. 1 with the Washington Wizards. The Jazz are in a stick-and-pick situation without question, so it’s a matter of best player available who fits what I’m currently building.
You can’t go wrong with any of the top prospects in this class. You truly can’t. But between Peterson and Dybantsa, I think Peterson just makes the most sense should AJ find his next home in the nation’s capital.