It was easy to speculate that the Phoenix Suns had their eye on Jimmy Butler when they completed a trade with the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, but such

The Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns made a draft-pick trade that could be the first step in Jimmy Butler getting what he wants.

The Suns announced the trade later in the day. The three first-round draft picks from Utah are for the 2025, 2027 and 2029 NBA drafts, Charania reported, but they are the least favorable selections in each of those drafts from among multiple teams.

Danny Ainge has done this before. The current Boston Celtics roster is built on the foundations he laid when fleecing the Brooklyn Nets in 2013. Ainge banked on the limited success of a super team built for immediate contention, and in doing so, landed back-to-back top-three draft picks. Those selections turned into Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

The Utah Jazz got some good news regarding one of their top contributors. Lauri Markkanen will be suiting up for the Jazz for the first time since January 11 ve

Utah’s motivation for trading with Phoenix on Tuesday is clear — building long-term flexibility while offloading lower-tier draft assets, per Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.

Walker Kessler’s offensive rebound and putback gave Utah a 110-108 lead with 33 seconds left, but Dejounte Murray had an answer for the home team, with his layup tying the game with 16 seconds remaining. That proved to be the final bucket of regulation, as the two teams needed five more minutes to settle Monday’s contest.

The non-call may have some pretty big ramifications come May's draft lottery. The Jazz found a way to lose a game they led by 25 points and are two wins behind the Pelicans. Utah's 10-31 record is third-worse in the league behind only Washington (6-35) and Toronto (10-32).

NBA action on Wednesday will see Jalen Williams and the Oklahoma City Thunder (35-7) hosting the Utah Jazz (10-31) at Paycom Center, with the matchup tipping at 8:00 PM ET.The Thunder head into

The OKC Thunder hope to get a second straight win as they travel back to the Sooner State to play a dwindled Jazz team.

This is a tale of two teams going in opposite directions. OKC is 7-1 in 2025 and sits atop the Western Conference while Utah is 3-7 in January but sits 15 th in the West. The Jazz are currently 7-16 on the road with a point differential of -7, while the Thunder have a 10-0 record in their last ten games at home.