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The possibilities for the Utah Jazz on Thursday night are substantial.

The Jazz have four overall picks, two in each round. They can keep all four or shove their chips in the middle of the table and trade them all for an impact veteran. They can use both of their first-round picks and add both players to their roster or choose a draft-and-stash product. They even can package picks and try to move up the draft board.

Conventional wisdom suggests a playoff team may be hesitant to bring five rookies onto a win-now roster. But the advent of the new two-way contracts may test that theory.

And since Utah general manager Dennis Lindsey usually resembles a riverboat gambler on draft night, the Jazz will be a team to watch Thursday.

"I think the mindset is to be aggressive," Lindsey said. "You have to look at every draft as its own entity. Every draft has its personalities, its own strengths and trends. We know in this draft there are a lot of point guards and a lot of big men. We want to wrap our arms around those dominant themes. It will help us to do the right things."

Lindsey has been steering the Jazz ship long enough that he's established trends of his own. Utah has made at least one trade in each of the last four drafts. Some of them have been minor, like when he selected power forward Jarnell Stokes and traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2014, or when he took Dani Diaz at pick 54 and dealt him to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2015.

Others have been franchise-altering.

The 2013 trade into the lottery for Trey Burke didn't work so well. Burke lasted three years with the Jazz, was traded to the Washington Wizards and finished on the end of the bench this season.

But Lindsey, sensing he needed more veterans in the locker room, traded his No. 12 pick to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-way deal that brought back George Hill last year. That added an important piece to the Jazz, and Hill's play proved instrumental in Utah winning 51 games, reaching the playoffs for the first time in five years and advancing to the second round for the first time since 2010.

And who can forget the draft-night trade that brought Rudy Gobert to the Jazz in 2013? Gobert has blossomed into one of the best defenders in the NBA. He will be a final candidate for Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved player when the NBA holds its awards show Monday in New York.

"Sometimes you get to do the things you want to do — for example, moving up in the draft," Lindsey said. "Sometimes you have the mindset but there are no natural trade partners. During draft season, a lot of teams have a certain plan and mindset. It's all about what you can execute on."

The Jazz are entering one of their most fluid roster situations in years, which likely will influence how they draft. Utah, which has picks 24 and 30 in the first round, is confident in its ability to find capable rotation help, even late in the first round.

But with Gordon Hayward due to be a free agent, the Jazz could try to package at least one of their picks in an attempt to either trade up or acquire a veteran to bolster the roster.

If the Jazz stand pat and use their picks, they've done extensive homework on players who they project to be available when they pick.

"The trick is to try and predict which guy could fall to you," Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin said. "There are some really good players outside of the lottery, and we think there will be some good players in the second round. Is this going to be a draft like LeBron's year [2003]? We won't know that for a couple of years, but we know this is a good draft."

Lindsey and Perrin both believe in selecting the best player available, especially with the Jazz picking late in the first round. But Lindsey said the team's needs can't be ignored.

That means the Jazz could look at selecting a big man. At power forward, Boris Diaw's contract for next year is non-guaranteed. Derrick Favors is entering the last year of his contract. Jeff Withey will be a free agent, and Trey Lyles didn't play well in his sophomore season. To that end, the Jazz brought in a significant number of power forwards and centers for pre-draft workouts.

The Jazz also may need a point guard, with Hill now a free agent, along with Shelvin Mack.

And with the Jazz holding $13 million they need to spend before July 1, it would be smart to keep an eye on Lindsey the gambler.

Twitter: @tribjazz —

Five players the Jazz could draft in the first round

TJ Leaf • A power forward who can shoot and is athletic, Leaf checks multiple boxes for the Jazz.

DJ Wilson • Another power forward who can be a playmaker, Wilson had a strong season for Michigan.

Frank Jackson • An explosive guard who played locally at Lone Peak High, Jackson also is very young and has a lot of upside.

Jawun Evans • A very good playmaking point guard, Evans may not have great size but is a very good player.

Isaiah Hartenstein • Could be good for the Jazz if they want to draft a player and stash him overseas for a few years.

Locals who may get drafted

Frank Jackson • The first McDonald's High School All-American to come out of Utah in more than a decade who played at Lehi and Lone Peak.

Kyle Kuzma • Was one of the best forwards in the Pac-12 for the Utah Utes last year.

Eric Mika • The former Waterford and Lone Peak big man, who played two seasons at BYU, could be taken in the second round. If not, he should be a priority undrafted free agent.

Caleb Swanigan • The Salt Lake City native was an All-American at Purdue. Should go late first, or early in the second round.

Jalen Moore • May not hear his name on draft night, but the former Utah State and Sky View High star should latch on to a team for summer league.

Jeremy Senglin • The former Weber State star reminds many of San Antonio Spurs guard Bryn Forbes.