We now sit around 24 hours until we officially know where the Utah Jazz will pick in this year’s NBA Draft. Setting the odds for the 8th overall selection and just 6.0% for the number one pick, we don’t expect to see many fireworks for Salt Lake City. However, anything is possible once the ping pong balls start bouncing.
In the days leading up to the lottery order being revealed, some media outlets began publishing mock drafts ahead of Sunday to gauge the board’s position before finding out how teams will be ranked later in June.
Gary Parrish CBS Sports comes with the latest simulation, where the Jazz stayed with their eighth selection to take Serbian G Nikola Topic, listed as the third best prospect available. Parrish explained his rationale for this choice, giving the general sense of Utah’s compelling need to accumulate talent:
“Topic is an 18-year-old Serbian point guard with great positional size who has already been professional for several years. The Jazz remain rebuilding and should simply take the best prospect available, regardless of his form or needs. In this mock draft, the subject is this player.
At 6-foot-6 and 205 pounds, Topic is a player with great length as a guard and can be an elite, versatile member of the backcourt if his shot arrives. During his 2023-24 season overseas, he posted averages of 15.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists on splits of 49.8/30.6/87.8.
While Topic has generated considerable hype for being a top three to five pick on draft night, this scenario allows the Jazz to secure him a little further down the rankings, at eight. He could actually be a solid backcourt option to pair alongside last year’s rookie guard Keyonte George.
If the Jazz ultimately decide to part ways with Jordan Clarkson via trade, that could open the door for Utah to emphasize bringing in more guard talent this summer. Topic is one of the youngest players in the class, matching their timeline, and his game sense makes him a complementary fit in a variety of offenses. Without having a true primary facilitator last season, this is a role the Jazz could benefit from by adding this offseason.
We’ll have a lot more clarity on what to expect for the Jazz once we find out where the franchise will select in Saturday’s NBA Draft Lottery, which begins at 1 p.m. MT.
