The Oklahoma City Thunder had interest in acquiring the Phoenix Suns’ unprotected 2031 first round pick before it was sent to the Utah Jazz in exchange for three future first round picks.
The Thunder, like the Jazz, have a surplus of future first round picks that they could have consolidated for a selection with more potential upside via the Suns.
Utah general manager Justin Zanik spoke about what made acquiring the pick appealing.
“The way it makes sense for us is that we now have another shot at a pick that has a lot of variability. The three picks we traded have no chance to be the No. 1 pick, and this one does,” Zanik said. “It balances out what we want, but we’ve always talked about bites at the apple or more swings in the draft, but it also is about the quality of the swings, and this is, in my opinion, the most valuable asset on the market right now.”
The Suns received either the 29th or 30th pick in this year’s draft, plus the worst of Utah, Cleveland and Minnesota’s picks in both the 2027 and 2029 drafts.