ESPN released their annual rookie forecasts. Darryn Peterson voted the first rookie to win a Championship.
NBA Summer Forecast 2026-27: Projecting rookie MVPs, future impact
"The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold to American businessman Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a record breaking price over $12 billion, multiple sources told ESPN."
I was curious if Mark Walter was going to do the same thing with the Lakers that he did with the Dodgers. Now that the Lakers are owned by a new ownership group, do you think the perception among the other teams is that those Lakers' picks and swaps are more valuable now?
1 - Philadelphia
2 - Miami
3 - Charlotte
4 - Utah Jazz
5 - Memphis
6 - LA Clippers
7 - Atlanta
8 - Washington
9 - Toronto
10 - OKC
*The skinny: The Ainges, père et fils, continued stacking future picks with precocious high-upside talent. Finally moving up in the lottery, Utah got a near-perfect rotational fit in Peterson, who will bring enormous three-level scoring potential alongside Keyonte George, giving the Jazz one of the toughest young backcourts to guard in the league. Utah kept Kessler, clearly not in its long-term plans once it got Jackson from Memphis in February, just long enough to make a deal with the Lakers, getting control of four firsts between 2028 and 2033 from L.A. That is a masterclass in asset maximization. Utah’s ready to roll, and to leap forward in the West next season.*
Considering the three teams above the Jazz were all ranked higher due to adding veteran players, and the Jazz didn't add any significant veteran players, that really says a lot about the drafting of Darryn Peterson and David Aldridge's thoughts on the Kessler trade.
The Sixers are reported to be trying to trade Johni Broome. Would you be interested in adding him to the Jazz? I am not suggesting he would start over Nurk, but could help bandaid the center position this year? I don't really watch much college basketball. I just remember he looked decent in the summer league last year, but I haven't seen him play much. Would he be an improvement over Jaxson Hayes or Mo Bamba?
Is it just me, or does John Hollinger never have anything good to say about a Utah Jazz player?
I was just reading his article in The Athletic and for the title of the article he names Darryn Peterson first for Summer League disappointments. In the body of the article he starts with Swain (he did have an absolutely atrocious Summer League) and goes into detail about Darryn Peterson second.
I am just curious if any of you have noticed a bias by John Hollinger as well. Is there some history there that I am not aware of?
On Bleacher Report today, Andy Bailey lists his prediction for the top players in 4 years. He has Darryn Peterson listed at #11.
Interesting insight from Tony Jones' article on The Athletic yesterday.
"...why the Jazz were hoping Peterson would fall to No. 2. And it’s the reason Utah’s war room turned giddy when the Washington Wizards selected BYU star AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick."
"By the end of the pre-draft process, however, the Jazz had settled on Peterson. Even if they had won the lottery, they would have taken him first."
"They believe Peterson can elevate a team with a playoff ceiling into one capable of competing for championships. They believe he could someday earn a third statue outside Delta Center alongside John Stockton and Karl Malone."