How does the 2026 pick swap between the Wolves and Jazz work?

It's already obvious that the Timberwolves won the Rudy Gobert trade with the Jazz in 2022, but it could be even more apparent if Minnesota somehow stumbles into the lottery and gets some weird luck next year.

The Gobert deal featured a 2026 pick swap, meaning Utah gets the more favorable pick between them and Minnesota in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft.

After back-to-back trips to the Western Conference finals, the Timberwolves bring back most of last year's roster and are a year wiser entering the 2025-26 season. Assuming they make the postseason again, this is a non-story.

But it becomes a story if the Wolves miss the playoffs and wind up in the lottery with the Jazz.

The Jazz went 17-65 last season, and they're entering this season with a projected over/under win total of 18.5. They have the lowest odds in the league to win the title, so they're virtually guaranteed to be picking high next summer's draft.

In the unlikely scenario in which the Wolves and Jazz are both in the lottery, the worst-case scenario would be a low lottery pick. But the best-case scenario would see the Wolves land some Mavericks-like luck to win the lottery. That would set the stage for Utah to take Minnesota's pick, but since the Jazz are so bad and likely to be picking in the top five, it would give the Wolves an incredibly valuable pick in what is supposed to be a loaded draft.

Again, it's highly unlikely because Minnesota is a title contender, but it's not an impossible outcome.

The Jazz also have the right to exercise a pick swap with Cleveland in 2026 and 2028 as part of the Donovan Mitchell trade. That simply means the Jazz can choose which pick is most favorable between their own, the Wolves, and the Cavaliers.

In exchange Gobert in 2022, the Jazz received Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, Walker Kessler, and Minnesota's first-round picks in 2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029. Not to mention the 2026 first-round pick swap.

Beverley is out of the league. Vanderbilt plays for the Lakers. Bolmaro plays in Europe. Kessler is already in trade rumors ahead of the season. Beasley is still knocking down threes, but not for the Jazz.

Gobert, meanwhile, helped the Timberwolves reach back-to-back conference finals in 2024 and 2025. He won his fourth career Defensive Player of the Year award after leading Minnesota to the league's No. 1 defense in 2023-24.

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