The 2026 draft holds a lot of intrigue for a number of teams, and that includes the Jazz. There seems to be a general consensus on who the top four picks will be \u2014 Kansas\u2019 Darryn Peterson, BYU\u2019s AJ Dybantsa<\/a>, Duke\u2019s Cam Boozer and North Carolina\u2019s Caleb Wilson.<\/p>\n If any of these players were to be added to the Jazz roster and have a major rookie season, it would change what is the predicted starting unit for the Jazz (Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., Walker Kessler, Ace Bailey, Keyonte George). But when considering the upside and talent level of the top draft picks and the Jazz\u2019s serious need for depth, I wouldn\u2019t really be worried about the best fit. Take the best player.<\/p>\n I think Peterson<\/a> (unless his medical information says otherwise when handed over to the NBA this spring) is the No. 1 pick no matter who is picking. We can figure out fit and depth charts later. That said, if the Jazz don\u2019t have the No. 1 pick and fit does play a role in their decision, there could be a strong case made for Wilson as a backup center to Kessler or insurance depending on how the Kessler negotiations go this offseason.<\/p>\n You could also slot in Dybantsa or Boozer on the bench behind Jackson or Markkanen. The Jazz need depth no matter what and if they get lucky enough to have a top-four pick, there really isn\u2019t a wrong answer.<\/p>\n How many rotation spots are going to be up for grabs next year and who\u2019s gonna be on the outside looking in?<\/p>\n \u2014 Brandon Stone (@brandonhstone.bsky.social<\/a>) February 10, 2026 at 9:55 PM<\/a><\/p>\n Rotation spots will depend on who the Jazz take in the draft and who they retain after this season. <\/p>\n Will the Jazz keep Jusuf Nurki\u0107<\/a> even if they are able to come to agreeable terms with Kessler? It\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n Will they look to trade some of the younger players that they\u2019re unsure of in order to get more established players? Also possible.<\/p>\n Generally, I would say that the bench is up for grabs. There are players that the Jazz could decide to stick with among that group \u2014 Svi Mykhailiuk, Brice Sensabaugh, Isaiah Collier, Kyle Filipowski, Nurki\u0107, Kevin Love, Cody Williams, Vince Williams Jr., John Konchar \u2014 and it wouldn\u2019t surprise me at all for the Jazz to invest in some or many of those players long term. But it also would not shock me at all if they moved on from any one of them and decided to look for an upgrade.<\/p>\n Do you think Jusuf Nurkic has enjoyed his time in Utah enough that he’d be willing to come back on a greatly reduced role\/salary? He will still have a defined nightly role at backup center, even with JJJ. Or will he prefer more opportunity\/more money elsewhere?<\/p>\n \u2014 [Utah] Jazz Man Mark (@markrussellpereira.bsky.social<\/a>) February 10, 2026 at 11:47 PM<\/a><\/p>\n I have it on good authority that both Nurki\u0107 and Love have enjoyed their time enough to consider making their stays in Utah a little more permanent.<\/p>\n That said, when it comes to Nurki\u0107 specifically, his play this season has been pretty remarkable considering what the narrative was coming into the year. He might have played himself into a bigger role with more money.<\/p>\n The market will probably make this decision. But Nurki\u0107 has been pretty public about his feelings for Jazz head coach Will Hardy, his respect for the organization and how much he\u2019s been pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. It could be really good for the Jazz to keep him and they might be able to find a deal that would keep everyone happy.<\/p>\n who or what put pressure on the Jazz Front Office, if any, to get a player like JJJ to signal next year will at least be a little more competitive and not another development year for the young guys<\/p>\n \u2014 kianopoly.bsky.social (@kianopoly.bsky.social<\/a>) February 11, 2026 at 2:33 AM<\/a><\/p>\n Frankly, the biggest thing that\u2019s been holding the Jazz back from trying to be competitive has been the protections on the pick owed to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Jazz sent a future first-rounder, with protections, to OKC along with Derrick Favors in 2021. But, after the 2026 draft, the Jazz\u2019s obligation to the Thunder extinguishes.<\/p>\n The 2026 draft also has a lot of high-end talent, while the 2027 draft is rumored to be lacking in top-end prospects.<\/p>\n And Jazz ownership is getting a little antsy.<\/p>\n And the fans are getting restless.<\/p>\n But it was also about opportunity. It wasn\u2019t widely known that Jackson was available. Most believed that the Memphis Grizzlies would hold on to Jackson until after they found a trade partner to take Ja Morant. But when the Jazz found a chance to strike, they took it.<\/p>\n Because of the timing of owed OKC pick, the talent of the draft and everything else, the Jazz were always planning to make more of a go of things with the 2026-27 season. Getting Jackson just cements that.<\/p>\n How big a bag is Walker walking out with?<\/p>\n \u2014 N.B. Lindberg (@nblindberg.bsky.social<\/a>) February 10, 2026 at 4:09 PM<\/a><\/p>\n This has been such a big topic of conversation lately, and there are opinions that land all over the place.<\/p>\n Some people think that the Jazz would match literally any offer in restricted free agency this offseason. There are some that think the Jazz will overpay just to end any speculation. And there are those that believe that Kessler is not worth the huge part of the cap that his salary would take up.<\/p>\n I think that the truth is probably in the middle.<\/p>\n Kessler is not a proven player. He has not been in the playoffs, he has not had any big NBA accolades and he is coming off a season-ending surgery so he will have missed nearly a year when it comes to competitive basketball. That being said, salaries for young players like Kessler are about the future, not the present.<\/p>\n The Jazz don\u2019t want to get into any kind of bidding war situation, but they don\u2019t want to handcuff themselves when it comes to the cap. There\u2019s probably a number between $28 million and $32 million per year, maybe on a front-loaded contract that would achieve everything that everyone wants.<\/p>\n Is it the biggest bag? No. But that\u2019s multi-generational wealth.<\/p>\n From my buddy Dan: “if Utah loses their pick, what is the backup plan to bolster the roster in the off-season?”<\/p>\n \u2014 Olman Feelyus (@walkerp.bsky.social<\/a>) February 10, 2026 at 6:24 PM<\/a><\/p>\n Pray.<\/p>\n I\u2019m kidding, (kind of).<\/p>\n Losing the pick would be pretty disastrous, so I think the Jazz will do everything in their power to make sure that doesn\u2019t happen. But I think their plan to bolster the roster is the same if they lose the pick or not \u2014 trade, trade, trade. <\/p>\n They still have a number of future picks and they have a lot of young players on the roster. If the Jazz see an opportunity for an upgrade, they have the means to make those deals.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ZEYCGJVGCZC27AZLXWMXTL3HR4.jpg\")
Utah Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen (23) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) during game, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Oklahoma City. | Gerald Leong, AP Photo <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The final third of the 2025-26 NBA season will start this week following the All-Star break, and with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,3166,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-481760","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-news-feed-local","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}