Suns, Jazz Complete First-Round Draft Pick Swap

Keith Smith
Keith Smith, Resident NBA ExpertJanuary 22, 2025
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#nba #trade #phoenix suns #utah jazz
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The Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz linked up on a swap of draft picks. For Utah, this was a quality over quantity trade. For Phoenix, this has the Suns set up to do something (or multiple somethings) bigger.

Here are the particulars:

Phoenix Suns acquire: least favorable 2025 Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Jazz first-round pick; least favorable 2027 Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Jazz first-round pick; least favorable 2029 Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Jazz first-round pick

Utah Jazz acquire: 2031 Suns first-round pick

Let’s dive in!

Phoenix Suns

Incoming salary: None

Outgoing salary: None

The Suns have been incredibly creative in using their limited draft assets in the last couple of years. First, they used swap rights with several first-round picks to add some additional second-round picks. Now, the Suns turned their one remaining tradable first-round pick into three tradable first-round picks. That’s pretty good work, even if none of the resulting picks Phoenix holds has tremendous value.

Or do they? Probably not as any single individual asset. As a collective, the value is huge to Phoenix.

Before making this deal, the Suns were limited to trading only their 2031 first-round pick in deals. Because of The Stepien Rule, and following trading several picks for Kevin Durant, Phoenix was prohibited from including any additional firsts in trades.

Now, the Suns have unlocked the ability to trade three picks in a six-year window between the 2025 NBA Draft and the 2030 NBA Draft. There are still some challenges with that, however.

In 2026, 2028 and 2030, the Suns have already swapped their first-round picks in previous deals. The conditions are incredibly complicated, but here’s what you need to know: Depending on the year, Phoenix is set to have the worst pick out of a group that includes themselves, the Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Washington Wizards.

Making it easier: In the even years, Phoenix will have a first-round pick that should land in the 20s.

With these new picks they’ve acquired, the Suns have added a whole new set of least-favorable conditions to their ledger. In the odd years from 2025 through 2029, Phoenix will get the worst pick of the Cavaliers, Timberwolves and Jazz. There are some protections on a couple of those picks too, but they aren’t likely to matter in the Suns case.

So, to make it really, really simple: The Suns traded their 2031 first-round pick for the Cavaliers 2025 first-round pick (good luck to Minnesota in trying to catch Cleveland this season!), while picking up a couple of additional first-rounders that should land in the 20s in 2027 and 2029.

Got all that? Good! Now, let’s go through what really matters.

The picks the Suns acquired are only kind of, sort of about where they might land. The key thing Phoenix acquired here is the ability to trade first-round picks at all between 2025 and 2030. That’s what this deal was really about.

Once again: James Jones was limited to offering his 2031 first-round pick in deals prior to this trade. Given the contracts the Suns are reportedly looking to move, that wasn’t going to cut it. So, Jones went out and got the ability to offer additional first-round picks to entice teams to take on some salary. That’s huge for opening up avenues for Phoenix over the next two weeks until the trade deadline.

Now, if the Suns jump into a Jimmy Butler trade and need to move Bradley Beal, Jones can offer a couple of first-round picks to help grease the wheels for a team to take on the $160 million Beal counts for on the books through 2026-27. Crucially, Phoenix might also be able to keep an additional first-round pick in reserve to convince a team to eat the $19 million owed to Jusuf Nurkic for next season.

And, of course, Jones could flip those picks in smaller deals to add depth, even if we all know the Suns are thinking bigger.

So, instead of having one pick to offer in 2031, Phoenix can now present a menu of choices to potential trade partners. You want to jump in the quagmire of “least favorable” involving a bunch of teams in the Grizzlies, Magic, Sixers, Knicks, Nets, Wizards group? Take your pick! You want to keep it simple and snag the worst pick of Cavs, Wolves and Jazz in a couple of different seasons? Absolutely!

As long as the Suns still have a first-round pick every other year, encumbered by complicated swap rights as it may be, they’re clear of violating The Stepien Rule. That’s any pick. A Phoenix pick or the worst one of any number of teams, Jones is good.

That’s the flexibility the Suns created here. And it’s probably just enough to get things moving with trading for Jimmy Butler and possibly another move alongside that one.

Now, convincing Bradley Beal to approve a trade…Well, that’s another story for another day.

Utah Jazz

Incoming salary: None

Outgoing salary: None

Before this deal, the Jazz were sitting on a bundle of first-round picks that could have totaled 14 over the next seven drafts. That sounds great, until you factor in that Utah already has 10 players on long-term contracts. That includes three rookies drafted last season, and an additional three players that were drafted in 2023.

Essentially: Utah is as stocked with young talent as a team can reasonably be. They didn’t need that many additional bites at the apple.

Instead, the Jazz retained the best and first bites at the apple over a few years, while adding a potentially really juicy whole apple several years from now.

Keeping it really simple: This trade was about trading quantity for potential quality for Utah. The Jazz happened to have extra picks in the years where the Suns really needed some picks. And Danny Ainge took those extra picks, added “least favorable” conditions to them to protect his haul, and picked up a first-round pick that could have great value.

While Ainge has earned his criticism for always “being close” to trading for various superstars over the years, no one can knock his ability to maximize draft capital. Ainge did it twice when rebuilding the Boston Celtics, and has brought that same approach to the Jazz.

We have no idea what the Suns will be in 2031. They could be deep into a rebuild. They could have flipped high-salary players and already rebuilt. They could keep things rolling and maintain being a playoff team all the way through.

But there’s a chance that 2031 pick could be awesome. Utah gave up a couple of extra picks that are likely to be in the 20s. That’s worth it for the shot at whatever current seventh-grader might be the next Victor Wembanyama or Cooper Flagg. Danny Ainge has won before playing the long-game. He’s setting up to do it again.

 


#nba #trade #phoenix suns #utah jazz
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