RealGM

OKC gets: Right to swap their worst 2026 pick for the better of the Wolves or Cavs 2026 pick.
Utah gets: 2025 Heat pick (top 14 protected). If the Heat do not convey this pick, the right to the unprotected 2026 Heat pick goes back to OKC.

So, I'm not entirely sure if this would fulfill the exact agreement of the (pretty complicated) Jazz-Cavs-Wolves 2026 pick swap so this may not be CBA legal, but if CBA legal, this is the reasoning.

Why for OKC: Trade a mid 2025 pick (at worst) for a small upside shot in 2026. Could end up giving up nothing for a swap of a dozen places in 2026.

Why for Utah: Team seems unlikely to be better than the Cavs or Wolves in 2026 so swap currently has little value to them. This turns that swap into likely a mid 2025 first round pick.

It’s the right kind of deal for OKC, but not sure it’s the right specific parts. The more likely outgoing for OKC is something like worst or 2nd worst 2025 1st, they seem to favor that structure. And I’m not sure how OKC would handicap those specific 2026 picks.

MoneyTalks41890 wrote:It’s the right kind of deal for OKC, but not sure it’s the right specific parts. The more likely outgoing for OKC is something like worst or 2nd worst 2025 1st, they seem to favor that structure. And I’m not sure how OKC would handicap those specific 2026 picks.

I think OKC has completely destroyed teams in these trades so far so I would be hoping the Jazz would only give up their swap if they got a slightly better deal than prior trades, lol.

HadAnEffectHere wrote:

MoneyTalks41890 wrote:It’s the right kind of deal for OKC, but not sure it’s the right specific parts. The more likely outgoing for OKC is something like worst or 2nd worst 2025 1st, they seem to favor that structure. And I’m not sure how OKC would handicap those specific 2026 picks.

I think OKC has completely destroyed teams in these trades so far so I would be hoping the Jazz would only give up their swap if they got a slightly better deal than prior trades, lol.

Yeah that’s fair. I think it’s probably a little early for OKC they may prefer to move that pick in something this summer. But the concept is sound.

Tbh it's hard to evaluate what this does for either team. My intuition is whichever asset has the most high upside variance is the one both teams should want since they are both loaded on picks.

babyjax13 wrote:Tbh it's hard to evaluate what this does for either team. My intuition is whichever asset has the most high upside variance is the one both teams should want since they are both loaded on picks.

In general, yes, but Utah seems very uninterested in doing anything but tanking for the next few years so the likelihood that the Cavs or Wolves have a better pick than them is just super low.

I would imagine a trade like this happens at draft time after trading Markkanen at the 2025 deadline.

HadAnEffectHere wrote:

babyjax13 wrote:Tbh it's hard to evaluate what this does for either team. My intuition is whichever asset has the most high upside variance is the one both teams should want since they are both loaded on picks.

In general, yes, but Utah seems very uninterested in doing anything but tanking for the next few years so the likelihood that the Cavs or Wolves have a better pick than them is just super low.

I would imagine a trade like this happens at draft time after trading Markkanen at the 2025 deadline.

If I'm understanding right I don't think this is CBA legal. Utah has the right to make the swap with their own pick, they can't trade the right to swap, they can only make a new trade that would be their own pick with the right to swap, or that adds the right to swap their swapped (or not swapped) pick with a pick OKC owns. E.g. "OKC gets the better of (UTA/MIN/CLE) and Utah gets the 2026 MIA 1st."

HadAnEffectHere wrote:OKC gets: Right to swap their worst 2026 pick for the better of the Wolves or Cavs 2026 pick.
Utah gets: 2025 Heat pick (top 14 protected). If the Heat do not convey this pick, the right to the unprotected 2026 Heat pick goes back to OKC.

So, I'm not entirely sure if this would fulfill the exact agreement of the (pretty complicated) Jazz-Cavs-Wolves 2026 pick swap so this may not be CBA legal, but if CBA legal, this is the reasoning.

Why for OKC: Trade a mid 2025 pick (at worst) for a small upside shot in 2026. Could end up giving up nothing for a swap of a dozen places in 2026.

Why for Utah: Team seems unlikely to be better than the Cavs or Wolves in 2026 so swap currently has little value to them. This turns that swap into likely a mid 2025 first round pick.

Jazz doesn’t have CAV or Min 26picks. We can’t trade the swap right from Jazz to OKC. It only allows Jazz trade the best pick between Jazz, CAV or Min. If then, it is a huge cost for 25 MIA pick.

No thank you.