Jazz president Austin Ainge: We don’t know what Wizards will do at No. 1

The Jazz hold the second pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Who they end up selecting depends heavily on what the Wizards do in front of them.

The problem? Utah has no idea what Washington is planning.

Jazz president Austin Ainge said as much during an appearance on KSL Sports, telling the hosts he doesn’t have a clear read on the Wizards’ thinking at No. 1.

“No. They wouldn’t say,” Ainge said. “We wouldn’t tell them, and we wouldn’t tell the team behind us. You never really know. There have been a couple of times in the years where we kind of knew what a team was going to do. But most of the time you don’t, and you just prepare.”

That is not unusual. Unlike recent drafts where the top pick was a foregone conclusion, this class features three prospects widely considered legitimate No. 1 options. AJ Dybantsa has been most frequently linked to Washington, but Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer have been graded similarly by many evaluators.

Not a bad problem to have

For all the uncertainty, the Jazz are sitting in an enviable spot.

Ainge acknowledged that preparing for the second pick is far simpler than further down the board.

“It’s a lot easier to guess who could be available at two than it is at 10,” he said. “So we don’t have to prepare that much, or worry that much about what everybody else is doing when it’s just two names.”

Regardless of what Washington decides, Utah will walk away with one of the top prospects in the class. Whether it is Dybantsa, Peterson or Boozer, a potential franchise cornerstone is landing in Salt Lake City on draft night.

Not a bad spot to be in.