Trading Places: Questionable Jazz Deals

Posted by James Seaman on August 10, 2008

‘Dominique Wilkins for John Who?’ (NBAE/Getty Images)

I wrote a blog a while ago about the best trades and free agent signings in Jazz history. My buddy J-Rod asked, “What about the worst deals?” About time, huh J-Rod? The following list highlights questionable trades that caused aching of heads and scratching of noggins among Jazz faithful. I use “questionable” over “worst” because I think bad trades are harder to judge than good trades, as the Dominique Wilkins and Adrian Dantley deals demonstrate. For the same reason, I listed the deals chronologically, not ranking them dumb and dumber. While the relative lack of boneheaded trades reflects the Jazz’s reluctance to play with fire, I included neither free agent signings nor draft picks. We’d need a separate tome and a bottle of Pepto-Bismol to analyze the botched selections that have haunted Utah on too many late-June nights. Maneuvers made in New Orleans don’t apply, either. To me, the universe’s big bang—its primordial swirl of stardust and cosmic creation—exploded from a single point when the Jazz moved to Salt Lake in 1979, the year I was born. Before that, nothing counts.

Okay, to quote Elvis, “A little less conversation, a little more action please.” Let’s get to it…

Dominique Wilkins for John Drew, Freeman Williams and cash, 1982
Wilkins played three years at the University of Georgia before the Jazz took him third behind James Worthy and Terry Cummings in the 1982 draft. As Jazz historians know, the team hung on for dear life in its early Utah days. Strapped for cash, the Jazz basically gave Wilkins away in order to pay the bills. The Human Highlight Film went on to score over 26,000 points in his career, averaging 25 a game to go along with nearly seven rebounds. On Utah’s end, John Drew averaged between 16 and 21 points per game for the Jazz, but he played more than 44 games only once in three years. Drug addiction ended Drew’s career prematurely. Freeman Williams scored a grand total of 92 points as a Jazzman, playing only 18 games in the purple, green, and gold. In terms of sheer personnel exchange, the Wilkins trade ranks as one of the most lopsided in NBA history. Obviously, the Jazz weren’t stupid. They essentially sold the rights to Wilkins because owner Sam Battistone needed cash to keep the franchise afloat. We also have the hindsight to recognize that if the Jazz had kept Wilkins, Karl Malone would never have had the offensive freedom to become the player he did. Furthermore, the Jazz might have won more games with Wilkins playing alongside Dantley, meaning a lower draft pick and possibly missing out on Malone altogether.

Adrian Dantley for Kelly Tripucka, 1986
Adrian Dantley received his walking papers prior to the 1986-87 season, ending a seven year stretch in Salt Lake where he put up 30 points per contest. Since Pete Maravich played just 17 games for the relocated franchise, Dantley left the Beehive State as the greatest player in Utah Jazz history. The Notre Dame product brought liabilities to the table as well. He missed 18 games a season during his tenure with the Jazz. Dantley also had a stormy relationship with those who called the shots in Salt Lake. Dantley held out in 1984 and developed a reputation—whether justified or not—as a selfish player. Larry Miller did not retire the two-time NBA scoring leader’s jersey until 2007, a definite slap in the face considering Mark Eaton, Darrel Griffith, and Jeff Hornacek had their numbers hanging from the rafters long before Dantley’s #4. In exchange for Dantley, the Jazz received New Jersey native Kelly Tripucka who averaged 20 points in 81 starts for Detroit in 1986. Tripucka would start only 97 games in two seasons with the Jazz. At face value, the Dantley trade appears painfully one-sided. Without showing AD the door, however, Karl Malone could never have taken the reins, led the Jazz to two Western Conference Championships, and retired as the second most prolific scorer in NBA history. The complex implications of the Dantley deal—like the Wilkins trade—demonstrate why we must sometimes label trades controversial or questionable, rather than simply calling them bad.

Blue Edwards and Eric Murdock for Larry Krystkowiak and Jay Humphries, 1992
The Jazz seemed to take the wrong lesson from their loss to Portland in the 1992 Western Conference Finals. Instead of investing in youth and athleticism while giving Stockton and Malone a chance to build on their most successful season to date, the Jazz got unnecessarily older and slower. They did so by acquiring Humphries and Krystkowiak from the Milwaukee Bucks in a draft day trade. Krystkowiak contributed seven points and four rebounds in 19 minutes a night during his only season with the Jazz. Humphries stuck around a little longer before the Jazz sent him to Boston during the 1994-95 campaign. The state Colorado alumnus was out of the league before the next season began. Humphries shot below 44% from the field in 1993, the worst performance since his rookie year. Krystkowiak and Humphries averaged 29 years of age when the Jazz acquired them in exchange for Murdock and Edwards, who averaged 25.5 years old. Including the 1993 season, Krystkowiak and Humphries would play a combined eight years in the NBA following the trade. Edwards and Murdock spent another 15 combined seasons in the league. The result of Utah’s decision to deal two of its young players? A disappointing 47 wins, the 6th seed in the west, and a first round exit from the playoffs. We can’t actually blame all this on Krystkowiak and Humphries, though I’d like to. Mark Eaton’s back and knee problems had much to do with the lackluster results in 1993. Still, the trade remains highly questionable because the Jazz elected to make themselves decidedly older and slower, trading a pair of former first round picks for two players whose careers had already begun to decline. Utah’s two title shots would demonstrate the need for youth—Bryon Russell, Shandon Anderson, Howard Eisley, Greg Ostertag—alongside veteran experience.

Ryan Humphrey for Curtis Borchardt, 2002
Okay, this is really just a way for me to circumvent my own rules against including draft picks in this discussion. But, technically speaking, Utah traded for Curtis Borchardt, making this draft blunder fair game. The Jazz shot themselves in the foot when they passed on Carlos Boozer. Then the karma police paid a visit, replacing the figurative foot problem with Borchardt’s literal one. Scouts knew Borchardt had serious foot injuries in college which explains why no one drafted him. Meanwhile the Jazz convinced themselves they’d somehow pulled off a stealth maneuver.

Curtis Borchardt, Raul Lopez, and Kirk Snyder for Greg Ostertag, 2005
As part of a five-team, 13-player mega deal, the Jazz tried to bury the bodies of their murderous draft mistakes in the backyard, hiding behind the movement of big names like Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, and Eddie Jones. The Jazz reacquired Ostertag, a completely known quantity who had chosen not to reach his potential over many years in Utah, in exchange for three former first round draft picks. Like the previous trade, this transaction reflects a thinly veiled attempt on my part to rip my beloved Jazz for draft day ineptitude. While we’ve already covered the Borchardt pick, the Lopez selection simply boggles the mind. What part of drafting a 5’ 10” point guard sounded like a good idea? I’m not even talking about Lopez’s bad wheels. The man stands under 6 feet tall. How many players of Lopez’s physical stature have ever become stars in the NBA? Certainly very few. Snyder topped off the deal, a talented athlete who allegedly never wanted to play for Utah. The Jazz essentially swallowed several years of botched draft selections, dealing the trio of number ones for an aging, mediocre Ostertag.

Rafael Araujo for Kris Humphries and Robert Whaley, 2006
Once again, the Jazz gave up on a former first round draft selection when they sent Humphries packing. This time Utah received a former lottery pick in exchange. Maybe the Jazz really believed they could unlock Araujo’s potential and improve themselves with this trade. I don’t believe it because I don’t believe Ajaujo had any significant basketball potential to unlock. The man worked extremely hard and maintained a great attitude during his only season in Salt Lake. But just like Matt Harpring belongs on the football field, Araujo belongs on a WWE wrestling mat. Can’t you imagine Araujo launching himself from the ropes and taking out some similarly ripped actor in the process? Hoffa has the tattoos and the physical stature to fit right in. They could call him the Brazilian Bomber.

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5 Comments

justalars on August 10, 2008 said:

Maybe they realized Hoffa only had one year left on his contract and that as of now Humphries still has 2 years left. So I see it as they know when to cut their losses and move on. The draft is hard cause you draft on potential but its up to the player to succeed not the franchise. And for the Ostertag trade they got rid of two players who spent most of their careers with Utah injured and another one who didn’t want to be here. Ostertag may not be the best player ever, but he had some good defensive moments that everyone in utah seems to forget about. And D-Will has said (on Locked on Sports) that he liked playing with Tag. So he wasn’t that bad. But it is your article and like you said they are questionable not necessarily bad. Just thought i’d share my thoughts too.

J R Stewart on August 10, 2008 said:

John Drew was pretty amazing, when he wasn’t on the sauce. Joe Dumars was always dubed the Human Microwave, but Drew was ready to shoot before he got to the scorers table. Obviously, Nique and Magic were the two hall of famers the Jazz could have had, if things had been different.

AD held out, while he was still under contract. Unthinkable for most of our thinking. He was sullen, grumpy and totally unsociable. He was as self centered as the Mailman. Everything revolved around AD.

The “Puker” as I liked to call Kelly, was never happy here. Whenever he would interview, it wasn’t “us”, it was “them” or the “Jazz”, like he was playing for the other team. He just wanted to play out his contract, get his money and return to Detroit.

You could just see the change in the team when Mark’s back went out. Heavily criticized, had he stayed healthy, the Jazz probably would have had at least one, maybe two additional cracks at a title.

To top off the trading up to get Borchardt, the Jazz passed up Boozer, who they brought in twice for workouts, because the Jazz wanted a center, not the better player.

Raul was taken over Tony because he could stay in Spain for a year and let the point guard glut dissolve. It’s hard to tell how good he could have become without the knee blowout and foreign surgery, followed up by a repeat blowout. This was when some guys were “one and done” on knee injuries. Also, both he and John were listed at 6′ 0″ and 6′1″, I’m sure the platform shoes helped.

Humphries was just a total air head. He could break more plays in a couple of minutes, than AK could for an entire game. I’m sure he was a coaching nightmare.

Ahhh, let me dream a little…Nique and Magic…

Jazzaholic

James on August 10, 2008 said:

JR–you have an amazing institutional memory. I’m going to start using you as a resource whenever I go to the well to write stuff about Jazz history. I’ll bet you even know where the bodies are burried!

Justalars–I think you’re ultimately right about the Jazz cutting their losses when they dealt the likes of Borchardt and Lopez. I think the disappointment comes in reflecting on why these guys were drafted in the first place.

Edward on August 11, 2008 said:

For the record I like Kelly Tripuca.

Jim on August 11, 2008 said:

I thought Dominique Wilkins refused to play in Utah?

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