Only a few months ago, the Utah Jazz took their big swing on the trade market when they went out to acquire former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. in exchange for a chunk of assets.

Three first-round picks (including their own 2027 first), Walter Clayton Jr., Taylor Hendricks, and a couple of veterans, all to land Jackson Jr.––which at the time felt like a savvy investment for the Jazz's frontcourt and defense done at just the right time.

However, now that we're 12 games into the Jazz's 2026-27 season, Utah is 1-11, Jackson Jr. is out with a torn MCL for the next several weeks, and it's led to some questions about whether or not the Jazz might already be regretting last season's deadline move less than 12 months later.

The Jazz's Jaren Jackson Jr. Trade Is Aging Like Milk

Now, a lot of the evaluation for the Jazz's trade to land Jackson Jr. is largely incomplete.

After all, Jackson Jr. has played less than a dozen games with his new team due to multiple knee injuries derailing his first few months on the floor.

When he's playing, he's looked relatively solid, to be fair. He's played seven total games with the Jazz between the last two seasons, and has averaged pretty similar stats from his time in Memphis: 18.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and around a steal and a block per game.

Once he's more available for Utah, he can continue to show his All-Star-level skillset on both ends, help lift Utah out of their current hole, then maybe things can change for the better.

But as of right now, the Jazz's move to go out and land Jackson Jr. has left them giving up some valuable assets for a roster that doesn't look too successful.

They're 1-11 with a disappointing output on both sides of the ball––having been ranked in the bottom five of the NBA for offensive and defensive rating. And to add insult to injury (literally), Utah is forced to move forward for this season without their own first-round pick.

Of course, with the new lottery rules in place, the Jazz's upcoming first-round pick right now wouldn't be as valuable as it would be this time last year. Not only will Utah be unable to claim a top-five pick for consecutive drafts, but being an abysmal team in the bottom three of the standings also hurts their overall draft odds.

Even knowing that, when factoring in how poor the start of the season has gone for this team, the Jazz might be thinking twice before pushing their chips in on a player like Jackson Jr. Instead, they might be more invested in keeping their young talent and their draft assets to keep building internally.

They'd have a rising young guard in Walter Clayton Jr. who's continued to look improved in his new situation with the Dallas Mavericks. Taylor Hendricks might also be able to provide some upside on both ends of the floor. Utah gave up a valuable 2031 Phoenix Suns pick that's widely considered one of the more compelling future draft assets around the NBA right now.

Not trading for Jackson Jr. would also have opened the door for the Jazz to go and re-sign Walker Kessler to a new deal, thus solving some of their big man and rebounding woes that have currently been plaguing them to start the season, and might possibly put them in a better situation compared to where they stand now.

Bottom Line

Hindsight is 20/20. We don't have a concrete picture of where Utah would be without their big swing at last year's deadline. And for the Jazz, maybe their current situation is able to make a 180 over the course of a long 82-game season, everyone gets healthier, and things turn a corner from how they look at the moment.

But right now, the Jackson Jr. trade hasn't taken the Jazz to the next level as they would've hoped.

They're now 10 games under .500, are scrambling for answers without Jackson Jr. on the floor among other injuries, and have no choice but to blindly move forward and hope that the wins can come in their favor to make this trade look better than it's turned out after just nine months.