Don't deal with the Devil, and all that, but there's a case to be made for the Jazz.
Word on the street says that the Oklahoma City Thunder, reigning NBA champions and current competitors in the Western Conference Finals, are looking to jump into the top 10 of this year's NBA draft.
Color the entire basketball world shocked.
With just one roster spot left to fill and three -- count 'em -- three draft picks through to the early second round at their disposal, Oklahoma City is understandably itching to get involved near the top of the order to select yet another blossoming superstar to add to their ever-growing heap of young stars.
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina's dynamic power forward and the most boom-or-bust prospect in the echelon of this class's elites, seems like a natural fit alongside Chet Holmgren in the front court.
Obviously, Cameron Wilson would serve a similar purpose as a steady, reliable producer at his position.
AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson would be ridiculous additions to pair with two-time league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams.
OKC salivating at these prospects is the type of greed typically reserved for biblical cautionary tales.
I say all this to preface one potentially blasphemous and borderline unforgivable suggestion: the Utah Jazz should listen to Oklahoma City's proposition.
Oklahoma City can send Utah a very appealing offer
If the Jazz want to get something out of this draft, they could lean on the Thunder to make a "Godfather offer" with their vast stores of assets, draft picks or otherwise.
Role players like Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, Ajay Mitchell, and several others could help with Utah's current depth issues. Sure, Sensabaugh, Collier, and Williams are a solid rotation of backups, but a team hoping to make a splash in their first season of contention could use all the reinforcements they can get.
Even a high-level player due for a major contract extension like Jalen Williams should raise some eyebrows in the Jazz front office -- familial bonds with his brother Cody as an adorable bonus.
Look, the Jazz should have very little interest in the 12th and 17th picks, when they could simply shake Adam Silver's hand and take a potential franchise-altering superstar at number two, but if the goal is to compete today, the Jazz can bank on Ace Bailey's development to fill that need.
The ramifications of giving a team like Oklahoma City a talent of Darryn Peterson's degree could be disastrous. What if Peterson fulfills his destiny as an All-NBA backcourt mate adjacent to SGA? What if AJ Dybantsa slips to the second pick and the best team in basketball gets potentially the best player in the class?
Withholding the second pick from the reigning champs is almost incentive enough to disconnect the phone lines at the Delta Center, but with everything the Thunder could offer the up-and-coming Jazz, how could it hurt to simply hear them out?
