AJ Dybantsa's Preference to Stay in Utah Is Great News for Jazz

It looks like this year's projected number-one overall pick, BYU star AJ Dybantsa, appears to have a bit of rumored desire to stay put in the state he's currently located.

According to CBS Sports' Adam Finkelstein, following the outcome of this year's draft lottery, there was some lingering chatter at the combine that Dybantsa was hoping to stay in Utah and inevitably get selected by the Utah Jazz.

"That comment by Dybantsa [on interviewing with two teams] was also consistent with one of the most repeated pieces of intel floating around Chicago this week: that Dybantsa was reportedly hoping to stay in Utah," Finklestein wrote, "He's been in Utah now for two years. His family is now with him in Utah, and they've grown to like the state and were hoping to stay."

Seeing Dybantsa have some reported interest in landing in Utah at the NBA ranks might not come as much of a surprise. After all, he's chosen to be in the state leading up to this year's draft in both prep school and college, and has his family located there too.

But instead of seeing luck go the Jazz's way in the lottery to land the first pick, and have an obvious path to selecting the BYU forward, they'd wind up falling to second-overall behind the Washington Wizards.

That allows the Jazz a bit of flexibility to still land Dybantsa, especially with his reported intrigue, but it's not as clear-cut of a situation as a top spot in the lottery would provide. Utah would have to hope he falls into their lap at number two, or they decide to be aggressive in a pursuit to trade for him.

Could Dybantsa decide to hold out from the Wizards in order to make that fit in Utah come to fruition? Finklestein noted that Dybantsa's camp hasn't hinted towards that being the case, but there's still a solid chunk of time before June's draft arrives.

Either way, the Jazz walk out as winners and leave some fascinating optionality on the table in the weeks ahead.

The Jazz's Dybantsa Dilemma

Of course, having Dybantsa get selected by Utah as a hometown hero of sorts and the final piece of the puzzle for this budding roster does set up for the perfect draft storyline. That's a plot you'd see out of a sports movie, and make him an instant fan favorite of the Jazz.

But in a class as talented as this one, the Jazz don't have to corner themselves into Dybantsa into a must-draft guy.

Two other names projected to go within the top three, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer, have a real chance of being future All-NBA players, and either could be an ideal selection at second overall. The Wizards are likely also keeping those two in consideration for one as well, and might even leave Dybantsa to fall.

The Jazz could decide to swap the first and second picks to assure they get their hands on the number one guy on the board. But in doing so, the Wizards are likely to command a solid dose of assets in return, and might not be worth the effort if this top-three is as strong as projections say.

Finklestein also noted that any talks of a 1-2 swap would have to start from Dybantsa and his camp.

There's a ton of different outcomes that could be in play within those top three spots. And as the draft cycle moves forward and teams get prospects in their respective facilities, we might have a clearer picture for what to expect come next month.

For now, though, as Jazz owner Ryan Smith emphasized for the weeks ahead, everything is on the table for Utah and their front office to come out of this draft with the best available player, and stay on track for a championship.

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