Here's Where Jazz's 3 First-Round Draft Picks Are Trending

We’re down to the home stretch of the 2022-23 regular season, and the three first-round draft picks in the possession of the Utah Jazz are finally taking shape. The thoughts of landing Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson appear to be a pipe dream at this stage.

Going into full tank mode just wasn’t in the cards with the unforeseen emergence of first time All-Star Lauri Markkanen and Rookie of the Year candidate Walker Kessler. That being said, Utah is still positioned to make some noise in what will be one of the most hyped draft classes in recent memory.

Let’s take a look where Utah's selections are trending.

First, here's a quick review of the picks.

Utah has the rights to its own pick.
Utah has the rights to Minnesota Timberwolves' pick unprotected.
Utah has the rights to the least favorable pick out of the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Houston Rockets (via Brooklyn).

The pick acquired via Royce O’Neale had promise out of the gates, but Philadelphia is now expected to make a deep playoff run. MVP candidate Joel Embiid is having arguably his best year as a pro, which will likely have Utah picking in the high 20s. Don’t be surprised if Jazz executive Danny Ainge includes the selection as part of a package in a trade leading up to the draft.

The Timberwolves' selection has been a tough one to pin down. There have been times when Minnesota appears to be lottery-bound with injuries and chemistry issues derailing their season, but at this stage it’s a coin flip.

Currently, the Timberwolves are the No. 7 seed and would need to escape the play-in tournament to make the playoffs. Powerrankingsguru.com gives the Timberwolves a 52.4% of achieving that goal, which feels accurate.

However, the Timberwolves will need to get through their current stretch of six out of their next seven games being on the road against teams still in the playoff hunt. The notion that Utah could own two lottery picks is still in the realm of possibility.

The best selection the Jazz have in their possession with where we’re at today would be their own. Powerrankingsguru.com has Utah in the lottery with only an 11% chance of making the playoffs.

Despite only being one game back from the Timberwolves, the Jazz are projected with the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA, according to Tankathon.com. Utah can do no better than the No. 6 slot in regard to lottery odds, but is more likely to land in the 8-12 range.

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