NBA trade deadline: Why Wizards and Jazz made stunning star moves

One of the NBA season’s biggest storylines has been the frenetic race to the bottom among teams hoping to land a top prospect in the strong 2026 draft.

But this week, another storyline has emerged: tanking teams prioritizing a competitive roster next season as opposed to chasing more lottery odds for the 2027 draft.

The Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards, two teams flagrantly trying to keep their top-eight protected draft picks, making these deals is a sign of several shifts in trends:

• the perceived strength of the 2026 draft

• the perceived weakness of the 2027 draft

• the lack of available free agent options this summer

• the limits on how long tanking is a viable strategy

• the lack of interest in high-salary stars outside the very top of the market

The framework of the trades that landed Jaren Jackson Jr. in Salt Lake City on Tuesday and Anthony Davis in Washington on Wednesday, was the same: sending out expiring money, largely middling draft capital (save for Memphis landing Phoenix’s unprotected 2031 selection), and getting back talented players on contracts that featured little interest around the league.

That’s not to diminish the actual on-court abilities of both players. Jackson is a “unicorn” rim-protecting, floor-spacing big man who much of the league covets. Davis, although he has regularly missed time with injuries, is a 20-10 machine when he does play and can be an imposing defensive presence in his own right.

But in a league where teams are looking to build depth and lean into youth and athleticism, rostering borderline All-NBA big men making more than $50 million per season is a tough sell — unless you have an otherwise clean cap sheet like the Jazz and Wizards do. Each franchise has just one other player (Lauri Markkanen for Utah, Trae Young for Washington) making more than $15 million on its books.

It’s also the latest indication that, despite hand-wringing over teams tanking in pursuit of top prospect such as Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe and Kon Knueppel in 2025 and Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson in the upcoming 2026 draft, that isn’t going to continue. For weeks, sources have told ESPN that the 2027 and 2028 classes don’t rate nearly as high.

And while it is important to note than good players come from every draft — the 2013 draft, which was widely regarded as one of the weakest classes in league history, gave us Giannis Antetokounmpo at No. 15 and Rudy Gobert No. 27 — it’s also clear the same incentives for being bad are not going to apply.

The lack of free agency options this summer is also a factor. A couple of rule changes in recent years — the implementation of a true salary cap floor, forcing teams to spend their money before the season starts, and a significant loosening of the extension rules, allowing more players to re-sign as opposed to hitting the open market — has caused a drop in impact players changing teams via free agency. A notable exception was Paul George joining the Philadelphia 76ers 18 months ago after the LA Clippers were not willing to offer a full max contract.

The Jazz and Wizards, who had hoarded draft picks the past few years, decided attacking free agency now by landing impact players under contract was the better decision.

There are lingering questions for both teams. Utah’s new jumbo-sized frontcourt — Jackson is 6-foot-10, Markkanen is 7-1 and Walker Kessler is 7-2 — will be fascinating to watch, as will whether the Jazz, currently sixth in the lottery standings, can find a way to still keep their pick with Memphis, the Milwaukee Bucks and others above them now trying to sink.

And Kessler’s impending restricted free agency, as a talented young big at a position of scarcity, could lead to a pricey offer sheet this summer to test Utah’s spending limits.

For Washington, the expectation among sources is that Davis and Young will play very little, if at all, the remainder of the season as the Wizards chase lottery luck, and that both stars will get long-term deals this summer. What those look like, and how they impact Washington’s books going forward, will also play a part in the ultimate outlook of these trades.

But, in the span of 24 hours, a pair of teams that have spent all season trying to lose have suddenly shifted gears. And, the AD and Jackson trades have not only signaled where Washington and Utah are headed, but where the NBA is, too.