The Memphis Grizzlies remain favorites to draft Cameron Boozer at No. 3, but a Jazz curveball at No. 2 could send Darryn Peterson to Memphis instead.
Most NBA teams talk about taking the best player available at the top of the draft, but that only works when it is clear who the best player actually is. This year's class complicates that.
There has been ample debate about the top three, and you could find a serious draft analyst who has AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, or Cameron Boozer at the top of their board. One of those analysts appears to be Utah Jazz general manager Danny Ainge. For some time, he has been expected to grab Peterson with the No. 2 pick, but there are now whispers that he would take Boozer instead. That would carry real consequences for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Grizzlies Could Miss Out on Boozer
If the Jazz take Boozer, the Grizzlies would most likely be drafting Peterson at No. 3.
Then again, all bets are off. It is widely suggested that Dybantsa would prefer to be in Utah, and if the Jazz and Washington Wizards swing a trade that sends Peterson to Washington, Memphis could circle right back to Boozer.
For argument's sake, assume Dybantsa and Boozer are both off the board when the Grizzlies pick. They could entertain Caleb Wilson, but realistically, Peterson would be the choice, and that would not be the end of the world. I've made no secret that Boozer sits atop my board, but all three of these prospects have immense potential. Peterson may be the best pure scorer in the class, having averaged a tremendous 30.5 points per 75 possessions for Kansas last season.
The catch is his playmaking. Peterson averaged just 1.6 assists per game. At 6-foot-5, he has combo-guard size, but in today's NBA, the best guards tend to keep the ball in their hands. Score-first point guards are the new norm, yet anyone playing the 1 still needs solid floor vision. Peterson will have to improve there at the NBA level, and if he does, his prodigious scoring could make him one of the league's best lead guards.
Is that something the Grizzlies need to worry about?
Grizzlies Still Favorites to Draft Boozer
Let's take a breath. Every year brings a wave of rumors ahead of the draft, and most often the consensus order plays out anyway, with teams selecting the players they have been most prominently linked to.
Nothing is guaranteed. The Grizzlies could wind up with Peterson, and that would be fine, but the smart money still has Cameron Boozer opening the 2026-27 NBA season in a Memphis uniform. They will be hoping he looks like the best player in his class.
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