Jazz’s Ryan Smith gets brutally honest on process ahead of No. 2 pick

As the Utah Jazz moved up in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, the team could be on the precipice of taking a player who will be a foundational piece for the future. With the Jazz at the No. 2 overall pick, owner Ryan Austin would speak on the team’s mindset ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft with the selection.

Smith would speak on “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN and was asked what his thoughts are on where Utah sits and the thought process now that they know the team is selecting with the second overall pick. He expressed confidence in the CEO and president of basketball operations, Danny and Austin Ainge, saying that the main goal is winning a championship, meaning it would be silly “if everything wasn’t on the table.”

“I’ve hired a pretty good team here that works with Danny Ainge and Austin, and they’ve got a pretty good track record of how they handle the lottery. And there’s a lot of time between now and then to see how things go. I think our ultimate goal is to build a championship, and it’d be irresponsible if everything wasn’t on the table to do that,” Smith said.

"Danny Ainge and Austin have a pretty good track record with how they handle the lottery..

There's a lot of time between now and the draft"@RyanQualtrics #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/NH0NGm7fQo

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 11, 2026

Jazz’s Ryan Smith speaks on a stacked NBA Draft class

With the Jazz having the second overall pick, fans could hope to see the names of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer, or others called. However, Smith would say how stacked this NBA Draft class is from the bottom half as well, while not wanting to get too much in the way of Ainge.

“As an owner myself, it’s a real interesting thing, because I want to be involved, but Danny’s also made a living off over-involved owners,” Smith said.

“We’ll go through it. But the good news is, I think that if you look at the bottom half of this or the top half of this draft, it’s pretty incredible. And you’re looking out, you’re saying, ‘Hey, there could be a few seven to 10 time All-Stars,'” Smith continued.

It remains to be seen how the Jazz approach the No. 2 overall pick.

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