Utah Jazz Exec Shares How Secret Their Draft Process Actually Is

The Utah Jazz are only a few days away from deciding who they'll be landing on with their second-overall pick in this year's draft.

With final workouts for guys like AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson reportedly happening this coming week, Utah is in the final stages of deciding upon how they'll be setting up the draft board rolling into the end of the month, and sorting out who their top two names in the class might ultimately be.

But don't expect those on the inside of the Jazz's building to be spreading much information around as to who they'll be preferring–– especially not for team president Austin Ainge.

Austin Ainge Explains the Secrecy of Utah's Draft Process

Ainge recently appeared on KSL Sports Zone's Scotty G. & The Coach to discuss a bit of the Jazz's draft process and how this month has panned out, where he also dove into just how secret his decision-making actually is behind-the-scenes.

Simply put, the circle of who Ainge is discussing his upcoming plans with is extremely small–– to the point where his own wife won't even know how the Jazz's pick will go.

"Everywhere I walk, people ask. But, we don't tell anybody," Ainge said. "I don't tell my wife. I don't tell some of the people on my staff that I work with every day where I'm leaning. On top of the competitive advantages, and the trades that that could kill, and some of the other things that would harm."

"There's huge betting markets now. Some guy I play golf with makes half a million dollars on who the draft is, then the FBI is knocking on my door. We can't be having that."

There's clear limited upside and obvious downside to airing out your pick to more people than necessary. Knowing this, Ainge is keeping his and Utah's plans close to the vest, and it seems like he'll continue to do so.

But we at least have some inkling as to who the Jazz will be narrowing down from between three names, based on how the top of the board is shaping up to be for this year's class: BYU's AJ Dybantsa, Kansas' Darryn Peterson, and Duke's Cameron Boozer.

Jan 24, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson (22) looks to pass against BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) during the first half at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

In some order, those three are virtual locks to be picks one, two, and three off the board.

Various scouts and experts have had those three prospects graded in every combination there is. And in due time, the Jazz will be finalizing their own rankings so they'll be ready to go once draft night comes.

Jazz Nearing the Final Steps of Scouting Process

As to how far along the Jazz and Ainge are in that process, those final rankings will be settled once the team gets everyone in the building for a visit. Most of their work, to this point, has already been done. But now just comes the time to finish up what's been a diligent, careful, and months-long scouting process.

"You have [decide] to at some point, right?" Ainge said of the Jazz's draft board. "I think at some point after we get everybody in and spend our time with them, that's kind of the final bit of information that we haven't been able to gather. I don't want to overrate that and say everything comes down to a few meetings with us. But, we'll just try to not lock it in until then."

"And pretty shortly thereafter, we'll kind of just say, 'Alright, this is what we're going to do. This is number one, this is number two. If one's there, we take him. If one's gone, we'll take two. And that's the way we'll do it."

The clock is slowly ticking before the final verdict is revealed on who Utah will add as the next cornerstone of their franchise. Expect Ainge and Co. to keep Jazz fans on the edge of their seats until then.

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