With the NBA Draft Lottery in the books and the NBA Draft Combine in full force, it’s officially rumor season. With the draft just over a month away, the next several weeks will be full of rumors, smokescreens, and pre-draft workouts that will offer a glimpse of how the first round of the draft will play out.
The hottest rumor in the league at the moment is whether the Washington Wizards will trade the No. 1 overall pick to the Utah Jazz, which would clear the way for Utah to select BYU wing AJ Dybantsa. Of course, Dybantsa has history in the state of Utah. He played his high school senior season at Utah Prep and had a standout one-and-done season at BYU.
Days after winning the No. 2 pick in the draft lottery, Jazz owner Ryan Smith said “everything should be on the table” when asked directly in an interview with the Deseret News if the organization would trade up to No. 1 to presumably select Dybantsa.
“We don’t control that,” Smith said. “We are trying to win a championship. So everything should be on the table. Austin and Danny (Ainge) have also been known to do some pretty crazy stuff on draft night.”
NBA Draft Combine intel: AJ Dybantsa-to-Washington isn’t viewed as the lock everyone assumed
Adam Finkelstein
If Utah did trade up to No. 1 with Washington, it wouldn’t be the first time the Ainge family had been part of a blockbuster draft trade. In 2017, while Ainge was the president of basketball operations for the Celtics, he traded back from No. 1 to No. 3 with the Philadelphia 76ers, which ultimately netted the franchise an additional first-round pick. The 76ers selected Markelle Fultz No. 1 overall and Boston drafted Jayson Tatum at No. 3.
Despite Dybantsa being the current favorite to go No. 1, it’s not a forgone conclusion. Last summer, Cooper Flagg was the consensus No. 1 pick, no matter who won the draft lottery. This year is quite different, with no true consensus on who the No. 1 pick will be. Multiple players are in the mix to hear their name called at No. 1, including Dybantsa, Peterson, and even Duke star Cameron Boozer.
Case in point? A scout told CBS Sports’ Adam Finkelstein this week at the NBA Draft Combine that Dybantsa going to Washington at No. 1 is no certainty.
“Absolutely not,” the scout told Finkelstein. “We were surprised the broadcast made it seem like such a foregone conclusion.
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