The Utah Jazz are looking forward to this NBA draft as they have two first-round picks in what is being heralded as a deep draft class. The Jazz will have to wait for the lottery to see how their own high pick works out as they finished the season with the fourth worst record in the league and they have a very good chance of picking somewhere in the top four slots. One thing for certain is the Jazz will have to make a decision based on the 23rd overall pick as this was obtained from the Golden State Warriors in the Andris Biedrins, Richard Jefferson deal.
While the Jazz will undoubtedly be looking to take home a top lottery prize they have the luxury of trying to fill out some rosters needs with the latter of their two draft picks. The Jazz have a lot of needs on their roster as the it is really only Trey Burke and Enes Kanter who have contracts and starting spots heading into next season. Resigning Derrick Favors should be a priority for the Jazz as he enjoyed a successful season in playing in and starting 73 games last season. Pairing Favors with Kanter in the frontcourt is a formidable duo for teams to defend and the Jazz should be excited about keeping the pair together.
The emergence of Alec Burks last season was a very nice bonus for the Jazz as now they have a young and capable backcourt under contract for the next couple seasons. The biggest question going into the offseason is that of Gordon Hayward who has a qualifying offer on the table; however, Hayward will be seeking a much more lucrative and longer termed deal moving forward. The Jazz might be wanting Hayward to take the offer and become an unrestricted free agent as they may be leary of a team making a lucrative deal which would force the Jazz to make a tough decision on letting Hayward go.
Biggest Draft Day Need:
If the Jazz are content to let Hayward go and commit to the rebuild then they will need to find a shooting guard / small forward to fill the vacated role. Now they might be able to do this with a top pick by having a shot at Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker. Even if they miss out on either of these two they could potentially still land Joel Embiid or Julius Randle to help with their frontcourt.
An interesting possibility could see the Jazz get Jabari Parker and follow that up by snagging Parker’s former Duke teammate Rodney Hood with their 23rd overall pick. Hood would fill a small forward need and would be given time to develop at the NBA level without much pressure. Hood might not be 100% ready to step in immediately and have an impact; however, he has the skills that would suggest he could make the transition given the time.
Another player who might peak the interest of the Jazz is former Clemson small forward K.J. McDaniels. McDaniels stayed two years at Clemson and he improved upon his freshman year to the point where declaring for the draft was the next step in his maturation. He is a 6’6” small forward who can shoot the ball with solid accuracy, score off the dribble and attack the rim. He is a big bodied guy who should be able to compete at the NBA level right away.
I think that the potential pairing of Hood and Parker for the Jazz might be a huge selling feature; however, even if the Jazz miss out on the higher ranked Jabari Parker they might be well served to grab his teammate here with their 23rd overall pick.