NBA Lottery: 3 Decisions the Jazz Have To Make If They Land No. 1

How would the future of the Utah Jazz change if they landed Victor Wembanyama?

There's no question about it: Victor Wembanyama is a franchise changer. Whichever team ends up landing the first-overall pick in Tuesday's NBA Draft Lottery will end up with one of the potentially most hyped prospects since LeBron James in 2003. Now, 20 years later, the 7 '4 French phenom has taken over interest from NBA franchises, social media, and the basketball world as a whole waiting for him to soon step foot on an NBA floor.

The Utah Jazz enter this year's NBA Draft Lottery with a 4.5% chance to end up with Victor. A slim, yet possible chance to secure the talents of this once-in-a-generation prospect. He has a giant frame, can handle the ball at an elite level, can rebound well, stretch the floor, block shots, moves like a guard, blah blah blah. In a nutshell, imagine if you maxed out the size and attributes of a player on NBA 2K. That's what you'd be getting in Wembanyama.

Contents

1. 1. How would Wembanyama fit in the frontcourt with Walker Kessler?
2. 2. How do the Jazz spend their cap space?
3. 3. What would the Jazz do with their draft assets?

What more could you ask for in an NBA prospect?

However with the potential of selecting a player like Wembanyama, there comes some high expectations to put him in a position to succeed right out of the gate. Considering the type of prospect you'd get, the last thing you'd want to do is waste a potential future superstar's career.

With that, here's three decisions the Jazz would have to make if they were able to jump up to select Victor Wembanyama.

1. How would Wembanyama fit in the frontcourt with Walker Kessler?

Rookie of the Year finalist, Walker Kessler, could find himself in an awkward position if the Jazz end up with Wemby. Considering both would typically find themselves playing center at the pro level, having both on the floor at the same time, especially starting, may not be ideal for the team long-term.

Sure, the two could play together at the same time. A big part of Wembanyama's hype as a prospect is his versatility and ability to stretch the floor. If Utah wanted to, they could make Victor the starting four, while still allowing Kessler to start at the five like he did last season. After all, with the continuously developing trend of "positionless basketball," this would be far from being considered an abnormal decision.

However, we've seen how teams with bigger frontcourts have been exposed in the league's recent history. With examples even as recent as this current postseason with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Both teams have a lengthy, tall frontcourt that works well in regular season play defensively, but ends up getting exposed when put to the test in playoff-level basketball. Teams with quicker, more versatile wings are able to exploit the usual lack of speed and perimeter defense within the bigger players.

If this fit were to prove to be an issue within the first few seasons of Wemby's career, Walker Kessler could eventually end up as a team casualty for the benefit of Victor's playstyle and fit.

2. How do the Jazz spend their cap space?

Utah enters this offseason currently projected with the fourth-most practical cap space in the league at just over $40 million. With lots of flexibility monetarily, the Jazz would have some important decisions to make if they made the jump in the lottery. Not only would it be expected that a solid amount of free agents would be interested in playing with Wemby, maybe even some star-level talent would find intrigue in signing to Utah?

Would it be wise for the Jazz to cash in on their cap space early to sign a bigger name free agent? If so, who would even be available? Realistically, maybe a D'Angelo Russell. If we're getting a little more out there, maybe even Kyrie Irving? 

Overall this free agency is less top-heavy than usual, so it would be more likely we see the Jazz sign more supporting role player-type players than putting all their chips in one basket. Regardless, Utah would need to spend their money wisely on the right players to support Wembanyama correctly right off the jump.

3. What would the Jazz do with their draft assets?

Speaking of putting all of your chips in one basket, the Jazz do have 14 first-round picks across the next six seasons. If the team ends up selecting at one in order to secure the franchise cornerstone, would it be wise to pool a few picks together in order to trade for a secondary star?

Of course, Lauri Markkanen could end up being a great number two next to Wembanyama, but what if another star ends up requesting a trade? Whispers of Luka Doncic being available for trade in the next few years would have to at least be somewhat enticing to a Wembanyama-led Jazz team.

We could also instead see Utah end up keeping these picks to draft talent to surround Wembanyama with. In the end, cheap, homegrown talent has consistently proven to lead to great results. A building block of Victor could be the perfect base to an Jazz team organically drafted with their previously obtained draft capital.

---

Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live-stream podcasts!