With the NBA Draft eight days away, the most intriguing maneuvering at the top of the board has nothing to do with mock projections and everything to do with where Darryn Peterson wants to play.
The Kansas guard, a consensus top-three pick, has declined to work out for the Utah Jazz, who hold the No. 2 selection — and according to multiple reports, that is no accident. Peterson's camp would prefer he land elsewhere.
ESPN's Shams Charania laid out the pre-draft picture on Sunday. "BYU's AJ Dybantsa has conducted formal visits with both the Washington Wizards (No. 1) and Utah Jazz (No. 2), while Kansas' Darryn Peterson only visited the Wizards and does not plan to grant anyone else a meeting," Charania reported ahead of the June 23-24 draft.
Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal went a step further on the reasoning. "Kansas guard Darryn Peterson does not plan to work out for the Utah Jazz, and his camp believes he has a real chance to go No. 1 to the Washington Wizards while preferring not to land in Utah," Afseth wrote, adding that Peterson's side favors Washington at No. 1 or the Memphis Grizzlies at No. 3 over the Jazz at No. 2.
KSL Sports confirmed Peterson would not visit Utah following his trip to Washington, and framed the stakes for a Jazz front office that suddenly looks boxed in. "With eight days remaining before the NBA Draft, a significant shake-up appears to be brewing at the top of the lottery," wrote KSL's Ben Anderson, who has spent the week unpacking what the canceled workout means for Utah's plans.
For the Wizards, the wrinkle sharpens an already difficult choice between Peterson and Dybantsa. Sportsbooks have noticed: Sports Illustrated reported that Peterson has been gaining ground on Dybantsa in the odds to go first overall.
Dybantsa, the 6-foot-9 BYU swingman, has built his case on something other than talent. Evaluators rate Peterson the more gifted scorer and Cam Boozer the more productive college freshman, but Dybantsa's appeal is his refusal to coast. During pre-draft prep he trained against Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell, who is nine inches shorter and gave the projected No. 1 pick fits.
"Out there, you can't do anything with me. You're locked up," Mitchell told Dybantsa, per Seth Davis of Hoops HQ. "As soon as you put the ball down, I'm in your pocket."
Dybantsa, by accounts, welcomed the lessons rather than bristling at them — the kind of "growing pains" scouts say translate to the next level.
The standoff leaves Utah with a familiar lottery dilemma. The Jazz can call Peterson's bluff and take him anyway, pivot to Dybantsa if Washington passes, or look hard at Boozer, a name Anderson and co-host Chandler Holt have circled back to on the air. What seems clear is that a draft many assumed was settled at the top is anything but. Peterson, for his part, has made his preference impossible to miss.
