Ideal 2026 draft - January edition

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

I would start by asking Peterson and Boozer how excited they'd be to come to Utah and be a Jazz franchise cornerstone player for 8+ years. They're close enough as prospects that I'd probably draft the one that's more willing to come here. I wouldn't trade the pick.

 

[SoberasHotRod]

If our starting lineup of the future consists of Key, Ace, Lauri, and Kessler then our 5th guy needs to have, in order of importance: perimeter defense, off ball defense, ball handling/playmaking, shooting.

- Peterson fits that bill the best besides the playmaking which he hasn't shown much of.
- A.J. would probably be next, but I would say the off ball defense and ball handling needs improvement, and the shooting is a big question mark.
- Boozer could fit in well on offense, but he wouldn't solve our most important gaps on perimeter defense.

FWIW, outside of the top 3 I think Flemings is kind of a perfect fit for what we need, although I'm not 100% sure he's a good enough shooter. I think Philon is pretty close to Flemings as a fit as well.

Wilson would be huge for our defense, but could be an awkward fit offensively, Wagler would be prefect fit for us offensively, but I haven't seen enough to really know if he can be what we need defensively.

I don't like the fit on our team for Brown Jr, Acuff, or Ament even though I like them all as prospects.

 

[HermanG]

If we get #1 pick it has to be Peterson and its not close imo.

I dont hate on AJ but DP is a better advantage creator, shooter, handler and POA defender. We need all those things more than we need AJs superior size, length and slashing. AJ playmaking is better and would be useful but Hardy's system geerates assisted easy shots pretty automatically as long as we can create advantages to initiate the offense, and DP can definitely create advantages.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

If we get #1 pick it has to be Peterson and its not close imo.

I dont hate on AJ but DP is a better advantage creator, shooter, handler and POA defender. We need all those things more than we need AJs superior size, length and slashing. AJ playmaking is better and would be useful but Hardy's system geerates assisted easy shots pretty automatically as long as we can create advantages to initiate the offense, and DP can definitely create advantages.

While I would absolutely trade the pick for a veteran player to round out the starting lineup and try to extract all possible value from Lauri's remaining prime, Will Hardy (or his system) isn't among the top 10 priorities we should take into account when deciding what to do.

Hardy might not even be here in a few years.

 

[Ron Mexico]

This is a reason why AJ should have the edge.
He might actually prefer Utah over the rest of the NBA.
He preferred Utah over the rest of the country once already.

Uh... Maybe he preferred Utah. Money had something to do with it.

 

[hgb]

While I would absolutely trade the pick for a veteran player to round out the starting lineup and try to extract all possible value from Lauri's remaining prime, Will Hardy (or his system) isn't among the top 10 priorities we should take into account when deciding what to do.

Hardy might not even be here in a few years.

But likely for Lauri's remaining prime...