Jazz Trade Deron Williams to New Jersey Nets for Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, and Two First-Round Picks

The Jazz shocked the NBA by trading Williams in his prime before the 2011 trade deadline. The falling out between Williams and Jerry Sloan led to the Jazz acquiring Favors, who became one of Utah’s all-time fan favorites.

Favors played ten seasons with the Jazz, averaging 11.4 points and 7.2 rebounds. He’s currently ranked eighth in games played in a Jazz uniform with 644. It’s also worth noting that Utah’s first-round pick this upcoming year was traded to the Thunder in an exchange that involved Favors.

Unfortunately, the Jazz didn’t take advantage of the lottery pick received in the Nets trade. That pick was used to select Kanter, and in Utah’s defense, picks four through 10 were also busts. However, Klay Thompson was selected at No. 11, and Kawhi Leonard was selected at 15. The Jazz could have taken Leonard at No. 12 but chose to go with Alec Burks instead.

Jazz Trade Jeff Malone and First-Round Pick for Jeff Hornacek, Jeff Green, and Second-Round Pick

The Jazz were on the verge of competing for a title in 1994 but were one player away. Utah’s starting guard, Jeff Malone, could fill up a stat sheet but wasn’t good at spacing the floor because of his limited range. Acquiring Hornacek for Malone gave Karl Malone more room to operate and made Utah a much more efficient team from a long distance.

It took three years, but with Hornacek’s help, the Jazz made their only NBA Finals appearances in 1997 and 1998. In 477 games, Hornacek averaged 14.4 points and 4.4 assists in a Jazz uniform. Utah wouldn’t have made the NBA Finals without Hornacek’s contributions.

The Jazz recognized his impact by retiring his No. 14 jersey in 2002. Interestingly, it happened