This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
This spring, so many former Jazz players have appeared in the NBA playoffs that the franchise could have fielded an alumni team.
Chicago's Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver, Portland's Wesley Matthews and the Los Angeles Lakers' Derek Fisher would make a decent, if undersized, starting five. Boston's Sasha Pavlovic and Carlos Arroyo, Oklahoma City's Eric Maynor, Denver's Kosta Koufos and Dallas' DeShawn Stevenson would come off the bench.
The abundance of former Jazzmen in the playoffs prompted The Tribune to examine how those active players compare with others who have moved on from Utah.
The result is the All-Time Ex-Jazz Team, consisting of players who appeared in games during the franchise's 32-year Utah era. That factor eliminated Dominique Wilkins, who was drafted by the Jazz in 1982 and traded that summer. A full season on another roster was required, disqualifying Deron Williams.
The selections are based entirely on how the players performed with other teams, regardless of their achievements in Utah, what the Jazz received for them or how much they were missed.
These players departed via nearly every imaginable circumstance, including trades, free agency, the expansion draft, waivers and a release from contract - amid legal issues, disputes with a coach and other factors. Some departures resulted in more regret than others.
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The All-Time Ex-Jazz Team
Bernard King
His exit • Traded to Golden State for Wayne Cooper and a second-round draft pick in September 1980.
His career • King became a four-time All-Star and finished second in the MVP voting in 1983-84 with New York, while averaging 26.3 points.
Bernard King scored nearly 20,000 points in his NBA career. Only 176 of them came in a Jazz uniform.
King symbolizes the Jazz's early years in Salt Lake City, for the wrong reasons. Acquired in a trade with New Jersey for center Rich Kelley shortly before the team's first season in Utah, King was charged with sexual assault — and eventually convicted of a lesser offense — on New Year's Day and was suspended indefinitely. That turned out to be the remainder of the season.
He never played for the Jazz again, being traded to Golden State in October in a deal that Frank Layden now says was a condition of the judge's sentencing. "A troubled guy," said Layden, then the Jazz's general manager. "But he did well after he left. His career took off."
King became an All-Star with the Warriors and his career accelerated when he was traded to his hometown New York Knicks. He averaged 26.3 points in 1983-84, when he was the runner-up to Larry Bird in the league's MVP voting. King was scoring 32.9 points through 55 games of the following season before being sidelined by the first of two knee injuries that would require comebacks. The all-
Adrian Dantley
His exit • Traded to Detroit with two second-round draft picks for Kelly Tripucka and Kent Benson in August 1986.
His career • Dantley played five more seasons for three teams and averaged 20.0 points for Detroit in 1987-88, when the Pistons played in the NBA Finals.
Frank Layden and the Jazz have mended their relationship with Adrian Dantley, who's in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame largely because of what he accomplished during the Jazz's first five years in Utah.
"He was never as good after he left here," said Layden, then the Jazz's coach and GM, who feuded with Dantley. "I don't think he went into ideal situations."
Dantley did succeed during the two-plus seasons he played in Detroit after the Jazz traded him, although he never again was an All-Star. In his second year, the Pistons took the Los Angeles Lakers to seven games in the 1988 NBA Finals. Bernard King and Dantley are the only ex-Jazzmen to average 20 points for other teams. The Pistons traded Dantley to Dallas in the middle of his third season with them, however, so he barely missed Detroit's consecutive championships.
The Jazz retired Dantley's No. 4 — which also was worn by Kelly Tripucka, who was acquired for him.
Danny Schayes
His exit • Traded to Denver for Rich Kelley and $300,000 in February 1983.
His career • Schayes played 16 more seasons in the NBA, including a five-year stretch when he averaged at least 10 points and six rebounds for Denver and Milwaukee.
After being drafted in 1981 in the same spot (No. 13) where the Jazz would take Karl Malone four years later, Danny Schayes never lived up to expectations in Utah. Fans were particularly demanding of the center, whose departure in the middle of his second season opened a starting position for then-rookie Mark Eaton.
The deal also meant that Rich Kelley came back to the Jazz, after playing for them in New Orleans and being traded for Bernard King. Frank Layden describes Schayes as "a journeyman-type player," but his NBA journey was a long one, covering 18 seasons with seven teams.
Schayes appeared in more than 1,000 games after leaving the Jazz. In 1988, the Nuggets rewarded him with a six-year, $9 million contract that made him one of the league's highest-paid centers of that era.
Mo Williams
His exit • Signed a three-year, $5.5 million offer sheet with Milwaukee that the Jazz did not match in August 2004.
His career • Williams played four seasons with the Bucks, then was traded to Cleveland, where he averaged 17.8 points in 2008-09 and became an All-Star.
Puerto Rico's upset of the U.S. team in the 2004 Olympics played a part in Jazz history. Because of Carlos Arroyo's performance for Puerto Rico in Athens, the Jazz chose not to match Milwaukee's offer sheet for Williams, then the team's No. 3 point guard.
"The reality is, Mo's got a big upside, but unless one of our guys got hurt, I'm not sure how much he would have played," general manager Kevin O'Connor said at the time.
As it turned out, Raul Lopez was injured again and Arroyo was traded in January of that 26-56 season, which positioned the Jazz to draft Deron Williams. Meanwhile, Mo Williams thrived in Milwaukee and then Cleveland, joining Bernard King as the only ex-Jazzmen to become All-Stars. Williams was honored in 2008-09, during the Cavaliers' 66-16 season.
In a three-year period, Williams averaged at least 17 points and was among the NBA leaders in 3-point and free-throw shooting percentage.
Williams failed to reach the NBA Finals with the Cavs in LeBron James' last two seasons in Cleveland, however. The team traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers in February.
Derek Fisher
His exit • Granted a release from his Jazz contract, signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in July 2008.
His career • In the past four seasons, Fisher has started every regular-season game for the Lakers, helping them win two NBA championships.
The Jazz likely would not have missed guard Derek Fisher as much if he had gone to any team other than the Lakers. That's because losing him did not harm them as much as it helped the Lakers — except for the fact the teams met three straight years in the playoffs.
The Lakers went 12-3 against the Jazz in postseason play once Fisher rejoined them, after Jazz owner Larry H. Miller released Fisher from the remaining three years of his contract in the interest of pursuing cancer treatment for his infant daughter.
Former coach Jerry Sloan occasionally made wry references to Fisher's signing with the Lakers, labeling that deal and the trade for Pau Gasol as "a couple of gifts." Many fans have treated Fisher harshly in his return trips to Salt Lake City.
The Lakers have played in the NBA Finals all three years and won two titles since Fisher, who turns 37 in August, came back.
Second team
Carlos Boozer
His exit • Signed a five-year, $76 million contract with Chicago as a free agent in July 2010.
His career • While missing 23 games with injuries, Boozer averaged 17.7 points and 9.8 rebounds for a team that won 62 games.
When asked about the number of former Jazz players on playoff teams and whether he second-guesses any of those personnel decisions, Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor made only a cryptic reference to Carlos Boozer, saying he monitors "games played."
Yet while Al Jefferson played 82 games with the Jazz to Boozer's 59 in Chicago this season, Boozer is a major reason the Bulls finished 62-20, the NBA's best record. Boozer was particularly valuable during the 24 games that center Joakim Noah missed.
Boozer is the only starter among the three former Jazz teammates now playing for the Bulls.
Sasha Pavlovic
His exit • Selected by Charlotte in the expansion draft and traded to Cleveland in June 2004.
His career • Pavlovic is now with his sixth NBA team (Boston), with his best season coming in 2006-07 when he averaged 9.0 points as Cleveland played in the NBA Finals.
Because they were stocked with wing players, the Jazz figured they could afford to expose Sasha Pavlovic in the expansion draft after his rookie season. They did not expect Charlotte to take him — and they were right, except that Cleveland arranged for the Bobcats to pick him and trade him.
Pavlovic earned this second-team distinction ahead of Karl Malone by playing a full season in a consistent role as the Cavaliers advanced to the 2007 NBA Finals. He's still in the league, now as a Boston teammate of Carlos Arroyo, the Jazz's point guard during Pavlovic's season in Utah.
Isaac Austin
His exit • Waived in November 1993.
His career • Austin played parts of seven more seasons in the NBA, becoming the league's Most Improved Player in 1996-97 when he averaged 9.7 points and 5.8 rebounds for Miami.
Isaac Austin would be considered a bust with the Jazz, except they invested only a second-round draft pick in him. Tired of waiting for him to get into shape, the Jazz cut him before his third season. After playing in Turkey, he returned to the NBA with Miami and became a dependable player for two seasons before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers and averaging 15.2 points in the remainder of the 1997-98 season.
Dell Curry
His exit • Traded to Cleveland with Kent Benson in three-team deal that brought Mel Turpin and Daryl Dawkins to Utah.
His career • Curry played 15 more seasons in the NBA, appearing in 1,016 games and averaging 12 points with a high of 16.3 for Charlotte in 1993-94 when he was voted the Sixth Man of the Year.
The famous story of how Curry's short stay with the Jazz ended involves the pro-am summer league game in which Jeff Judkins, by then a retired NBA player, hit a winning shot over Curry that caused Jerry Sloan, then a Jazz assistant, to sour on Curry's future. Well, he played only 16 seasons in the league. Curry thrived as a shooter, while passing on that trait to his son Stephen, who plays for Golden State.
Wesley Matthews
His exit • Signed a five-year, $32.5 million offer sheet with Portland that the Jazz did not match in July 2010.
His career • Matthews became Portland's No. 2 scorer (15.9) while playing in all 82 games with 69 starts and scored 25 points in a playoff victory over Dallas.
Wesley Matthews is an NBA success story. After being undrafted, he accepted an invitation to the Jazz's 2009 training camp and not only made the team, but became a rotation regular. Without a standard multiyear contract, he was a restricted free agent after his rookie season and signed an offer sheet with Portland that was beyond anything the Jazz could afford. Even after another breakthrough season with the Trail Blazers, he still talks about his desire to improve. "Hasn't changed," he said.
Third team
Karl Malone
His exit • Signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract (with a second-year option) with the Los Angeles Lakers in July 2003.
His career • At age 40, Malone averaged 13.2 points while playing only 42 games for the Lakers because of a knee injury that he aggravated during the playoffs as they lost to Detroit in the NBA Finals.
No one will ever know how Jazz fans would have responded to seeing Karl Malone in a Laker uniform after 18 seasons with the Jazz, because he never dressed for a game against his old team. Yet even while playing only 42 games for the Lakers, the Mailman merits consideration for the All-Time Ex-Jazz Team because of his steadying influence for a team that reached the NBA Finals. Malone was sidelined for what became the final night of his career, Game 5 against Detroit.
Donyell Marshall
His exit • Signed a four-year, $14 million contract with Chicago as a free agent in August 2002.
His career • The forward remained a consistent scorer for five more seasons and contributed to Cleveland's run to the 2007 NBA Finals, joining Sasha Pavlovic.
Marshall averaged 14.8 points for the Jazz in 2001-02 and the team made efforts to keep him, but he took less money to move to Chicago, which was in even more of a rebuilding stage. Traded to Toronto during his second in Chicago, he once made 12 3-pointers in a game against Philadelphia. After signing with Cleveland, he averaged 7.0 points in 16.8 minutes for a 66-16 team in 2006-07.
Wayne Cooper
His exit • Traded to Dallas with Allan Bristow for Bill Robinzine in August 1981.
His career • Cooper played 11 more seasons in the NBA and averaged 12.1 points in 1984-85 for Denver, which reached the Western Conference finals by beating the Jazz.
Cooper played enough in the NBA to rank ahead of Felton Spencer and Ben Poquette as the third-team center. Never a star in the league, he was a durable, consistent player.
Eric Murdock
His exit • Traded to Milwaukee with Blue Edwards and a first-round draft pick for Jay Humphries and Larry Krystkowiak in June 1992.
His career • Murdock played eight more seasons for six different teams in the NBA, averaging 10.9 points with a high of 15.3 for Milwaukee in 1993-94.
Murdock is part of the long line of young Jazz guards in particular and first-round choices in general who were traded or otherwise left Utah early in their careers. He was dealt after his rookie season and pieced together a solid career, although he appeared only once in the playoffs, with Miami in 1997-98.
Kyle Korver
His exit • Signed a three-year, $15 million contract with Chicago as a free agent in July 2010.
His career • Korver averaged 8.3 points in 20.1 minutes this season for the 62-20 Bulls and scored 10.4 in their playoff series victory over Indiana.
In case the Jazz needed any reminder of their outside shooting deficiencies in Kyle Korver's absence, he went 9 of 13 (including 4 of 4 from 3-point range) against them in two meetings this season. Korver nearly matched his career shooting and scoring numbers in his first season with the Bulls, helping them to a 62-20 record.
All-Time Ex-Jazz TeamHonorable Mention
Forwards • Shandon Anderson, Kelly Tripucka
Center • Ben Poquette, Felton Spencer
Guards • Ronnie Brewer, Blue Edwards, Jeff Malone,DeShawn Stevenson —
Former Jazz players who have won NBA championships:
• Bobby Hansen, Chicago (1992)
• Greg Foster, Los Angeles Lakers (2001)
• Shandon Anderson, Miami (2006)
• Jacque Vaughn, San Antonio (2007)