Utah Jazz Linked to Three Intriguing Dream Trade Targets

The Utah Jazz sit in an interesting spot this offseason when it comes to their team-building process and rebuild that now lies in its third summer of coming together.

Without a top-three pick in this year's draft, and all eyes focused on the Jazz likely looking to maximize their young talent and draft odds yet again during the 2025-26 campaign, it leads to the question of what other moves Utah could look to make this offseason to move that needle forward.

And in the eyes of Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz, the route to go may be centered upon taking a few swings on the trade market in order to land that aspired young cornerstone.

"The Utah Jazz have compiled a fair amount of young talent the past few years, yet little of it has proved to be worthy of a consistent role moving forward," Swartz wrote. "The Jazz should continue to trade off veterans while attempting to collect more potential franchise cornerstones."

So if scavenging the market for a budding talent with high potential is a move the Jazz want to take this season, who could be some targets to keep an eye on?

For Swartz, there's three big names that come to mind: the Houston Rockets duo of Reed Sheppard and Jabari Smith, and also San Antonio Spurs' forward Jeremy Sochan.

"Sheppard only averaged 4.4 points in his 12.6 minutes a game as a rookie, yet still carries a ton of potential as the No. 3 overall pick in last summer's draft," Swartz continued. "Smith is also a former No. 3 pick in need of a bigger role and Sochan lost his starting job in San Antonio this past season. Both could use a fresh start on a team in need of their scoring, defense and passing."

If available on the market, there's a case to be made for each of those three names to be strong fits for Utah. Both of the young Rockets were former top three selections once viewed as long-term fixtures of whatever team they were selected by at the draft, and Sochan has shown notable upside as a high-end defender–– something the Jazz could certainly utilize.

Oct 31, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) dunks the ball against the Utah Jazz during the second quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

However, making such a move for any of those three young guys takes two to tango, and if the Jazz don't have a package strong enough for either Houston or San Antonio to pull the trigger, there's not a huge incentive to make those deals.

Without a package involving Lauri Markkanen, seeing the Rockets willing to move off of both of their top-three selections seems hard to picture, especially for Sheppard who's barely gotten any notable reps at the NBA level.

Apr 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (15) drives the ball against Los Angeles Lakers guard Gabe Vincent (7) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images | Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Sochan, on the other hand, is one name in my mind that seems a bit more feasible to acquire, and one that the Jazz could benefit immensely from. He will have a team option for this summer, leaving him with an expiring contract for the summer of 2026.

In the event San Antonio had no plans to re-up with him on a second deal, that's where a team like Utah could factor in with a package of veterans to help the Spurs furnish a win-now roster, without having to give up the farm or a key piece like Markkanen.

Needless to say, it'll be an unpredictable summer ahead for the Jazz, so even if some are more realistic than others, keep an eye on all three names as potential targets for Utah, because you never quite know what a Danny Ainge-led team has in store.

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