Report: Utah Jazz Explored Trading Up in First Round of the Draft

The Utah Jazz were active on the phones on Wednesday night.

Jun 26, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Isaiah Collier shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected in the first round by the Utah Jazz in the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the Utah Jazz holding steady without any trades during Wednesday's first round, the team still did their due diligence on the market before ultimately making their two selections on the night.

According to Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune, the Jazz were among teams who were exploring trade-up opportunities at pick ten, as well as pick 29. However, based on how well the board fell for them as the night progressed, Utah opted to hold off on making any deals:

"Jazz did explore trading up, but after No. 5 pick, Jazz felt confident they were going to get a player they wanted at 10. Same happened as the draft hit the early 20s... they knew they were going to get someone good at 29."

- Andy Larsen, Salt Lake Tribune

After taking the gamble and not opting to shift around the draft board, the bold strategy ended up paying off for Utah.

The Jazz landed Colorado wing Cody Williams with their 10th overall pick and got a steal in USC guard Isaiah Collier at the end of the first round at 29. Both players were frequently projected to be out of range for this team in mocks and pre-draft projections, but they lucked out to secure them without any moves

That doesn't mean we can't expect any other trades from the Jazz to come to light this summer. We've already seen veteran names such as John Collins, Jordan Clarkson, and Collin Sexton surface in early offseason rumors, and those talks could continue in the coming weeks, depending on how this team wants to implement and develop their young core for next season.

Utah now adds two strong pieces in Williams and Collier to an already established core with Keyonte George, Walker Kessler, Taylor Hendricks, and Brice Sensabaugh. They'll also have another opportunity to add to that group during Thursday's second round.

The Jazz will be on the clock at pick 32, with the 2024 NBA Draft getting right back underway starting at 2 PM MT.

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