Tag: salt lake city

Entering Tuesday night’s NBA Draft Lottery, the Utah Jazz had a 14% chance of winning the number one overall pick, which was tied for the highest odds with the Washington Wizards and the Charlotte Hornets. Jazz fans had high hopes that they would be able to land the first overall pick and take consensus first overall pick Cooper Flagg with that pick. However, as NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum opened the pick envelopes, the Dallas Mavericks jumped into the top four picks, followed by the San Antonio Spurs and the Philadelphia 76ers. This led to the opening of the pick five envelope, where the Jazz logo was revealed. A crushing blow for Jazz fans as their hopes of Flagg becoming a star in Utah slipped away from their minds. But with the 2025 draft class being such a deep class, the Jazz can still pick a franchise-altering star with the fifth pick.

The first player that could come into play at the fifth pick is the former Texas Longhorn Tre Johnson. The SEC Rookie of the Year and league’s leading scorer is a walking bucket, Johnson can create his own shot off the dribble well, as well as being able to consistently make catch and shoot threes. There is not a shot on the court that Johnson will not be able to create and take; Johnson has a great frame standing 6’6″ with a 6’10” wingspan, which allows him to rise and maintain a high release point on his jump shot. The downside of Johnson’s game comes from his mindset, where he has to get his shots up, which, if he’s hot, he’ll drop 30, but if he’s ice cold, he can go 0-14 like he did against Oklahoma last season. Another area of improvement in Johnson’s game would be his ability to get to the rim; he has shown plenty of speed and agility to create pull-up jumpers, but he doesn’t get to the rim as much as you would like. With that being said, Johnson just turned nineteen years old in March and has plenty of time to grow and adjust to the NBA game.

The second player is Johnson’s college rival in Jeremiah Fears out of Oklahoma. Fears is a dynamic 6’4″ point guard who wants to get downhill and finish at the basket. Averaging 17 ppg, as well as four assists and four rebounds per game, Fears is a prototypical point guard who can be effective for years to come. Fears is also one of the youngest prospects in this year’s draft as he won’t turn nineteen until October. The downside in Fears’ game comes from his strength and his shooting; Fears weighs in at just over 180 lbs. and struggles with contact around the rim sometimes. Fears only shot 43% from the field and 28% from three in his one year at Oklahoma, but given some time to refine his mechanics and get used to NBA threes, expect those numbers to rise. Fears has the upside of being an all-star caliber point guard and would be a great addition to the Jazz organization.

Although Cooper Flagg won’t be a member of the Utah Jazz on draft night, the Jazz still have a great opportunity to upgrade their roster with the fifth pick. Johnson and Fears are raw prospects who have proven the ability to take over the game on any night, but just have some refining to do to be successful in the NBA.