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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz are betting on the Phoenix Suns being pretty bad in six years.
The team traded three of its future first-round picks acquired in the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell trades from the 2022 offseason for the Suns' 2031 unprotected first-round pick, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
The Jazz are sending out the most unfavorable of their picks from those trades in 2025, 2027 and 2029. Essentially, the Jazz are hoping the Suns will be in a full-on rebuild post Kevin Durant and gave away what they see as three low first-rounders for a chance to get a potential lottery one.
Led by Mitchell, Cleveland has the best record in the NBA this season and has its young core locked up for years to come. So right now, Utah will be sending the No. 30 pick in 2025 — and it wouldn't be a surprise if it stays around that spot in 2027 and 2029, too.
The Timberwolves' future is a little more murky, but Anthony Edwards is under contract until the 2028-29 season, so a steep decline is also unlikely.
The Jazz are consolidating their first-round picks acquired in the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell trades.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 22, 2025
Including the 2031 unprotected first from Phoenix, Utah has 11 first-round picks in the next seven years. pic.twitter.com/mmdx5M4wmE
By parting with those picks, the Jazz received an unprotected first-round pick of an aging team.
Now, six years is a long way down the road. The Suns could be one of the best teams in the league or one of the worst. The Jazz are guessing — or at least hoping — for the latter.
As for the Suns, the move gives them some trade assets as it looks to build a contending team around Durant and Devin Booker in the short term.
Utah likely isn't done looking for moves ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Utah has numerous players — John Collins, Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, specifically — that are expected to be available as trade season winds down.
