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SALT LAKE CITY — Lady Luck didn't shine on the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
No amount of $2 bills or offerings to the 9th and 9th Whale statue altered Utah's draft positioning during the NBA draft lottery in Chicago.
The Jazz stood pat and will pick ninth in next month's NBA draft following the lottery.
The big winner of the night was the San Antonio Spurs. Gregg Popovich has already mentored a pair of all-time bigs in Tim Duncan and David Robinson; he'll now have a chance to do it again. The Spurs got the No. 1 pick and the right to draft generational prospect Victor Wembanyama.
The Charlotte Hornets got the No. 2 pick, the Portland Trail Blazers moved up to No. 3, and the Houston Rockets got the final lottery decided pick at No. 4.
The Detroit Pistons were the night's big loser. The Pistons had the worst record in the league last season, but fell out of the four lottery positions and will pick No. 5.
The Jazz have only moved up in the lottery one time (moving from No. 6 to No. 3 in 2011 when they took Enes Kanter). They weren't able to add to that list on Tuesday. Still, it'll be the first time since 2014 the Jazz will pick in the top 10 of a draft (Dante Exum at No. 5).
"It happens very quickly," Jazz general manager Justin Zanik said, describing the emotions of the unveiling. "They're almost trying to squeeze a 20 minute show out of it, but they actually get to it really quick. And especially if you're in the bottom half of the lottery. So five, six picks in, we know exactly where we are. So it's more the emotion happens when you don't see your name there."
The Jazz, however, did.
When NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum flipped over a card with the Jazz logo on it at No. 9, the outside hope of Utah jumping up in the lottery was over. The Jazz had 4.5% chance of getting the top pick and 20.3% chance of getting into the top four.
"When you see your name there at nine, you're like, 'OK, that's where we are.' So you move on pretty quickly," Zanik said. "Now, we're excited to be starting to combine interviews and on court stuff tomorrow (Wednesday)."
Staying put was always the likeliest option, and it's the one the Jazz had been prepping for in the lead up to Tuesday's lottery.
"This is what was expected," Zanik said. "So all of our draft prep and laying out what the next month is gonna look like has all been kind of predicated on where our picks were, and we would have adjusted accordingly if we had moved up or down."
He said it was good to have some certainty now, and the Jazz can now develop a more concrete plan for the draft and free agency. Could they move up the draft? With two other first round picks this season (No. 16 and No. 28) and multiple future first round picks, Utah has the assets to potentially make such a move, if one is available.
"I'm sure we're gonna have a lot of interesting conversations here over the next few weeks as we get our own internal work done," Zanik said. "And then really start engaging with teams as they get to build their boards and know a little bit more as well."
NBA draft order following lottery
- San Antonio Spurs
- Charlotte Hornets
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Houston Rockets
- Detroit Pistons
- Orlando Magic
- Indiana Pacers
- Washington Wizards
- Utah Jazz
- Dallas Mavericks
- Orlando Magic
- Oklahoma CIty Thunder
- Toronto Raptors
- New Orleans Pelicans
