Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report recently urged the Utah Jazz to approach the 2026 NBA Trade Deadline with a "facilitate and fail" mindset, which, if adopted, would all but dash the draft lottery hopes for this OKC Thunder squad.
As things currently stand, Oklahoma City owns the rights to Utah's 2026 first-rounder thanks to the Derrick Favors salary-dump deal executed right before the start of the 2021-22 campaign.
Of course, said rights are top-eight protected.
If the season were to end right now, the 15-30 Jazz would find themselves holding onto the pick and presumably be on the board at sixth overall, meaning that the Thunder will lose out on adding another top-billed prospect to their already championship-tested roster.
Hughes is advising Utah to steer into the skid by shopping their veterans on expiring deals and "handing more minutes to young, take-your-lumps options."
In his eyes, the aim for Utah should be to focus in on "hamstringing itself enough to keep the pick it owes OKC."
Thunder could shocking lose both their claims to 2026 lottery picks
The Utah Jazz aren't the only ones actively prying away Oklahoma City's claim to a 2026 lottery pick, as the LA Clippers are trending toward doing the same, albeit via a completely different route.
During the early stages of the season, Los Angeles' pick seemed to be well on its way toward finishing in the top three in the draft lottery with their record of 6-21 over their first 27 games of action.
As a result of the seemingly always-giving 2019 Paul George-for-Shai Gilgeous-Alexander blockbuster, the rights would have fallen directly into the Thunder's lap.
However, right before the calendar page flipped to January, the Clippers somehow managed to pull a complete 180 in the success department, as they've gone a league-best 14-3 since December 20 while sporting the fourth best offensive and net rating, and have moseyed on up to the 10 seed in the Western Conference standings, putting them in a position to make their fourth-straight postseason.
At one point, the Thunder looked as if they were destined to not only exceed the 70-win threshold but also come across multiple lottery picks in the process.
Now, with Los Angeles' surge in the standings and Hughes indicating that Utah is already looking to embark on a mid-season tank, their draft fortunes may not end up being as grand as many had previously thought.