The Utah Jazz reportedly really like Arkansas point guard Anthony Black and are trying to move up in the 2023 NBA draft to get him.
That’s according to Yahoo Sports’ senior NBA reporter Jake Fischer.
Per Fischer, the Jazz have had discussions with the Detroit Pistons, who hold the No. 5 pick in Thursday’s draft, in hopes of moving up in the draft in order to select Black.
League sources told Fischer that Utah feels it must move ahead of the Washington Wizards, who hold the No. 8 pick, in order to have a real chance at selecting Black.
The Wizards recently agreed to terms with the Phoenix Suns to send All-Star guard Bradley Beal to Phoenix in exchange for expiring contracts and draft picks, a move that signals a long overdue rebuild in the nation’s capital. Since the trade was reported, multiple reports have stated that Washington has a real interest in Black.
Fischer writes: “The Jazz are searching to get above Washington’s eighth pick in order to select Arkansas guard Anthony Black. Utah has also contacted Indiana about trading into the seventh selection. ... But the Jazz may need to trade above Orlando — or find a trade with the Magic at No. 6 — to secure a chance at Black.”
The Jazz have three first-round picks in the coming draft — No. 9, No. 16 and No. 28 — and could conceivably package multiple of those picks together in order to move up the draft board. Black is an intriguing prospect, a 6-foot-7 point guard who ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has described as the best perimeter defender in the draft.
“His game is based on his cerebral ability, his feel, his change of speeds. He is excellent in pick-and-roll. He is very unselfish,” Givony said. “I think he is the best perimeter defender in this class. He guards 1 through 4, is a terrific rebounder, is a ballhawk, gets in passing lanes, rotates to protect the rim. He does a little bit of everything on both ends of the floor. As his shooting evolves, he really has a chance to be an All-Star caliber player in the NBA.”
Fischer also reported that Utah has made point guard Collin Sexton available to teams in trade talks ahead of the draft. The 24-year-old guard out of Alabama is Utah’s highest paid player and just finished a bounce-back season with the Jazz after suffering a season-ending injury his final year in Cleveland.
As a point/combo guard, though, Sexton would take valuable reps away from Black were the Jazz to land the Arkansas product.
The idea that the Jazz are looking to move up in the draft isn’t new. Recent reporting by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst — on the “Hoop Collective Podcast” — among others, suggests that Utah has been aggressive in shopping one or more of its first-round picks this year in order to jump up the draft board.
This year’s NBA draft is largely considered a three player draft at the top, with Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson all considered shoe-ins to hear their names called at that start, after which there is a collection of five or more players that have been projected to go in any order from No. 4 to No. 9, including Black, Amen Thompson, Jarace Walker, Ausar Thompson, Taylor Hendricks and Cam Whitmore.