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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz lost 65 games during the 2024-25 season — you can add another one to that tally following Monday's draft lottery.
The rabbit's foot didn't work, the four-leaf clovers came up empty, the horseshoes proved unlucky.
Duke phenom Cooper Flagg will not be coming to Utah, and neither will Rutgers guard Dylan Harper.
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery couldn't have gone worse for Utah. The Jazz fell to the No. 5 pick Monday, bringing a disappointing end to a franchise-worst season.
The Dallas Mavericks jumped from No. 11 to land No. 1, the San Antonio Spurs jumped six spots to No. 2, and the Philadelphia 76ers moved up from No. 5 to No. 3. The Charlotte Hornets got the No. 4 pick.
The lottery couldn't have gone worse for the Jazz. Sure, the No. 5 pick was always the most likely option, but a team doesn't throw away an entire season for the fifth pick. There's no sugar coating it: This is a massive setback to Utah's rebuilding efforts.
Or at least appears to be.
This isn't the first time Jazz executive Danny Ainge has experienced lottery heartbreak.
In 2007, Ainge — then the general manager of the Boston Celtics — had his eyes set on Kevin Durant.
The Celtics were bad. Real bad. They had endured a 19-game losing streak and the second-worst record in the league. Durant was supposed to be the prize. Yes, that should sound quite familiar to the recently completed season, Jazz fans.
Lottery night was a disaster for that Boston squad. The team fell from No. 2 to No. 5, which meant missing out on a potential franchise-changing player.
So Ainge changed course.
He used the pick to help swing a trade for Ray Allen, and then made a move for Kevin Garnett. A year later, the Celtics were hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy.
Could Utah look to do something similar? That might be the only way to feel better about what happened Monday night.
Utah fans endured the worst season in the history of the franchise with the hopes that after lottery night, there would be a light at the end of the rebuilding tunnel. No light came on Monday.
The league has flattened the odds over the years to try and eliminate the tanking strategy. It hasn't worked yet, but the most recent lotteries might help that take hold. The last two No. 1 picks have both been won by teams that were in the play-in tournament.
It's hard to sell a fanbase hope when the reward for a season-long tank effort is a No. 5 (or worse) pick.
So what are Utah's options at No. 5?
With Flagg and Harper seemingly locked in at the top two spots, the draft, in some ways, begins at No. 3.
Rutgers forward Ace Bailey has the prototypical size and skillset to be a star NBA wing, but he's also one of the most polarizing prospects in the draft.
He's a pure shotmaker, and averaged 17.6 points and seven rebounds while shooting 46% from the field and 34% from 3-point range. The 46% is more impressive considering most of those shots came away from the rim.
"Ace is a pure, pure talent," NBA star Kevin Durant said in December. "Being able to shoot the ball with that type of touch from anywhere, it's insane the shots that he can make over multiple people at that length. It's incredible to watch."
He can make the kinds of tough shots NBA stars make a living hitting. That's something he leaned on heavily during his freshman season — some would say too much.
He settled for long jumpers and struggled to get to the rim, but was that due to playing with a lower-level roster (yes, he had Harper on his side but little else) or something more alarming?
He had a bad assist-to-turnover ratio and rarely got to the free-throw line or the rim, but the shot-making is intriguing. He could turn into an elite scoring wing or be a high-usage chucker that never figures out how to be efficient.
So, yeah, polarizing. That could see the player who was once seen as a potential No. 2 pick fall to No. 5.
Baylor guard V.J. Edgecombe might be the most dynamic athlete in the class and, outside of Flagg, has the most two-way potential. He has great instincts on the defensive end and trusts his athleticism on the offensive side. He averaged 15 points, nearly six rebounds, three assists and two steals in his freshman season.
His swing skill is his shot. If he can turn into a true on-the-move shooter, he can be a two-way star in the NBA.
Texas guard Tre Johnson is a knockdown shooter and can get them off from everywhere. With the NBA spreading out more and more, that might just be the most valuable skill a young player can have.
Johnson's combination of size and scoring gives him the look of a primary offensive option, but his playmaking left some to be desired, and he'll need to get stronger to be a threat inside the 3-point line.
Duke's Kon Knueppel, who shot over 40% from the 3-point line, could also be an option.
Utah will at least have two of those players available. And there's always a chance things could get weird up top.
So Utah will have options — but on Monday, there was nothing but disappointment.
