The Utah Jazz have been stockpiling a boatload of draft assets, and new rumors around the league point to them possibly using those picks in a trade for Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic.
After trading the top two players on their team — Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell — last summer, the Utah Jazz potentially have as many as 14 first-round picks over the next six years. It is an obscene amount but credit must go to the team’s brain trust led by Danny Ainge for cashing in during a seller’s market.
The assumption around the NBA is at some point they will likely flip those picks in a potential trade for a disgruntled All-Star or two at some point in the next couple of years. However, the team is in no rush.
They will continue to develop talented young forward Lauri Markkanen and again wait for their moment to pounce. And it seems the organization thinks that moment could come in the next couple of years.
Utah Jazz record (’22-’23): 37-45
After a disastrous season where they couldn’t even reach the NBA Play-in Tournament, there are many around the league wondering if the Dallas Mavericks will be able to hold on to Luka Doncic. The Slovenian is signed for four more seasons, but in an age of superstar players forcing their way out of unsatisfying situations, if the Mavs continue on this path it is only a matter of time before the four-time All-Star requests a trade.
That possibility is something The Athletic’s NBA writer John Hollinger wrote about on Thursday and rumblings around the league. In the shared column, he reveals that the Utah Jazz “in particular is keeping a very interested eye on Dončić’s situation.”
While it would seem shocking for the Dallas Mavericks to trade Luka Doncic, and he’s claimed he’s completely happy, there was a time when Lebron James being anywhere else but Cleveland and Kevin Durant winning titles outside Oklahoma City seemed impossible as well. It is something to watch out for if Dallas doesn’t turn things around next season.