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It's never easy for small market teams to lure talent to their franchise, but over their nearly-50-year history the Utah Jazz have managed to recruit some very good players. Unfortunately, despite having a number of great teams they have never achieved the ultimate success, but nonetheless they have enjoyed plenty of good trades in their history. These are six of the best of them, ranked down to number one.
6. 2009. Jazz trade the rights to Peter Fehse for Eric Maynor and Matt Harpring.
The names in this page certainly don't jump off the page, and for good reason. This trade wasn't a win for the Jazz because of Peter Fehse – he never played a game in the NBA – and there were plenty of fans in Utah not particularly happy with their team trading away a rookie in Maynor who looked to have some talent. But by making this trade, Utah was able to save a huge $13 million, and in the end they didn't give up a whole lot to do it. Harpring had been a valuable servant for the Jazz but he was injured at the time of this trade and would never play again. Maynor, meanwhile, played just five total seasons in the league, only once playing more than 20 minutes per game in a season and never averaging more than 6.9 points and 4.0 assists. It may not be the sexiest trade in Jazz history, but this was a super savvy move.
5. 2004. Jazz receive a future first-round pick, Tom Gugliotta, a first-round pick and a future second-round pick from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Keon Clark and Ben Handlogten.
It's the first part of this trade which made it such a good one for the Jazz. Though the trade took place in 2004, it wasn't until years down the track that it's true worth became evident when they drafted none other than Gordon Hayward with that future first-round pick. Hayward demonstrated gradual improvement in each of his seven years with the Jazz, helping to lead them from 25 wins in 2013-14, to 38 the next year, then 40, then 51. The last of those seasons was Hayward's best with averages of 21.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists and an All-Star appearance as a result. Ultimately he would leave for Boston in free agency, but there's no doubting the impact he had on the franchise, and all as part of a trade in which they didn't have to give up a whole lot.
4. 2017. Jazz receive Donovan Mitchell from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for pick 24 and Trey Lyles.
Although Donovan Mitchell played the first five seasons of his career with the Jazz, he wasn't actually picked by them. Rather, it was the Nuggets who picked him with the 13th selection in the 2017 draft, only to trade him to Utah for a pick which ended up yielding Tyler London, who spent just two seasons in the NBA, and Trey Lyles. Mitchell, of course, went on to become a primary reason for the Jazz's consistent presence in the playoffs over recent years, with he and Gobert forming a formidable duo which saw the Jazz win close to 50 games every season they were together. As we all know, Mitchell's career with the Jazz ended after five seasons when he was sent to Cleveland, but compensation for him was substantial; Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, as well as three first-round picks. That package for Tyler London and Trey Lyles? Yes please.
3. 2013. Jazz receive pick 27 from Denver Nuggets in exchange for pick 46 and cash.
On paper, this trade doesn't look particularly significant, and even the Jazz front office couldn't have anticipated what a win it would be for the franchise. But with that late first-round pick, they went on to select Rudy Gobert, who would of course go on to become the best defender in the league over his extensive career in Utah. For all of his offensive shortcomings, nobody could argue with the impact that the Stifle Tower had during his nine seasons with the Jazz, a period during which he was a 3x Defensive Player of the Year, 6x member of the All-NBA Defensive First Team, 4x member of the All-NBA Second or Third Team, and 3x All-Star. He helped to bring the Jazz back to relevance, and even having left he will continue to beneft the team for years to come, with four first-round draft picks going all the way through to 2029 coming as part of the trade along with Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley.
2. 2005. Jazz receive pick 3 from Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for picks 6, 27 and a 2006 first-round pick from Detroit.
The picks the Jazz gave up in this trade ended up being Martell Webster, Linas Kleiza and Joel Freeland, the first of whom ended up playing a few years of the NBA, but their career didn't hold a candle to the man Utah picked up with the Portland pick. That man was Deron Williams, who of course went on to develop into one of the best point guards in the league and played six of his best seasons with the Jazz. During his time in Utah he was a 2x All-Star and 2x member of the All-NBA Second Team, averaging close to 20 points and 10 assists in every season but his first with the franchise. He helped to lead them back into the playoffs in 2006-07 after three years on the outer, and three times with him at the helm the Jazz made the Conference Semi-Finals.
1. 1979. Jazz receive Adrian Dantley from Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Spencer Haywood.
As far as NBA trades go, this one is pretty straightforward, and was a huge win for the Utah Jazz. Spencer Haywood was ten years into his NBA career and had averaged 24.0 points and 9.6 rebounds in his solitary year with the Jazz, but after they moved him on his production waned drastically and his career wound to a close three seasons later. Dantley, in contrast, was just getting started. His first year in Utah was his fifth in the league, and he averaged 28.0 points in it on 57.6% shooting – a pretty handy start, but the lowest he would average in the first five of his seven seasons there. By career's end he had put together a Hall of Fame resume, and the best of his seasons came in Utah in a trade in which they didn't have to give up much at all.
