Collin Sexton Reportedly Available in Newest Jazz Trade Rumor

The Utah Jazz are one of many franchises that have been active on the phones before June 22nd’s NBA Draft. The team’s front office has positioned themselves with tons of flexibility before the big night with an array of intriguing draft picks and players to dangle in potential deals.

One of those players reportedly on the block is guard Collin Sexton. After just one short season with Utah in 2022-23, Danny Ainge and the front office could opt to quickly move the 24-year-old. NBA reporter Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports gave us some detail as to what we could see the Jazz do come Thursday:

Utah has been in contact with the Pistons about trading up from Nos. 9 and 16, according to league sources, with rival teams believing the Jazz are searching to get above Washington’s eighth pick to select Arkansas guard Anthony Black. Utah has also contacted Indiana about trading into the seventh selection, sources said. But the Jazz may need to trade above Orlando — or find a trade with the Magic at No. 6 — to secure a chance at Black. Utah has made guard

Collin Sexton

available in trade talks around the league, sources said.

- Jake Fischer, via

Yahoo! Sports.

So there’s a lot to unpack here with this report.

All signs point to the Jazz being infatuated with Anthony Black. A tall, playmaking, defensive guard with tantalizing upside is an easy player to want to draft on your team. We’ve seen Black connected to the Jazz in countless mock drafts and predictions since the Jazz got past the lottery.

However, Black’s stock seems to be rising as other teams have immense interest in what he could soon develop into. The Washington Wizards at 8th-overall have been the most frequently mentioned team, but even a team like the Orlando Magic at 6th-overall could decide to take him instead.

To avoid any of these teams throwing a wrench in Utah’s plans, making the drastic leap from 9th overall to 5th would be one way to do it. However, it would come at a steep cost. As the report suggests, we could potentially see a trade package along the lines of the 9th and 16th pick, along with Collin Sexton to make the move.

It’s a high price to pay, especially considering higher-ranked prospects like Ausar Thompson, Cam Whitmore, and Jarace Walker would still be sitting in the green room at this time. However, maybe there’s something the front office knows we don’t. The Jazz’s intrigue with Black could even be a part of a masterfully placed smoke screen right before the draft.

Something else to note is that the report states that Sexton is “available in trade talks around the league,” not just for the teams ahead of them in the draft. Sure, we could see Sexton inevitably being a part of a draft day trade-up, but this almost implies that he’s simply on the trade block.

After such a small sample size of Sexton’s production for Utah (playing less than 50 total games), it seems a bit abrupt to trade him just one offseason removed from acquiring and signing him. After a season averaging 14.3 points on a 61.6% true shooting percentage, his efficiency could be easily utilized for the Jazz next season.

Utah will have their hands full when it’s time to make their selections on Thursday.

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