Utah's Return to the Top

Last season, Utah Jazz general manager, Kevin O’Connor, tasted success for the first time since his first year with the franchise. O’Connor joined the Jazz organization on August 26, 1999. After five straight seasons of not reaching forty wins and having not made the playoffs in three previous seasons, the Jazz found success. In 2006-07, Utah won 51 regular season games and made it to the Western Conference finals.

O’Connor’s fortunes changed with the 2005-06 draft. O’Connor had very limited success in the draft in his first several seasons, selecting mostly players who made no impact or insignificant impact with the franchise. Here’s a look at his first five drafts as the general manager of the Jazz:

2000-01 Deshawn Stevenson (23), Kaniel Dickens (50)
Comment: Stevenson was chose directly from high school and struggled to fit in with coach Jerry Sloan. Stevenson was productive in 2003-04 with the Jazz, but was not with the team the next season. Dickens never played for the Jazz.
Passed On: Primoz Brezec, Marco Jaric, Eddie House, Eduardo Najera, Michael Redd

2001-02 Raul Lopez (24), Jarron Collins (53)
Comment: Lopez was a disapppointment in two seasons with the Jazz. Collins provided nice value from a second round pick, but has never been a key contributor for Utah. The Jazz chose Lopez when a handful of better point guards were available.
Passed On: Gerald Wallace, Samuel Dalembert, Jamaal Tinsley, Tony Parker, Gilbert Arenas

2002-03 Curtis Borchardt (18); traded Ryan Humphrey (19) and Jamal Sampson (47) to Orlando
Comment: Borchardt had two very unproductive seasons with the Jazz.
Passed On: Tayshaun Prince, Nenad Krstic, John Salmons, Carlos Boozer

2003-04 Sasha Pavlovic (19), Mo Williams (47)
Comment: Although both players developed well later on in their careers, neither of these two players made an impact with the Jazz. Both players were traded relatively quickly after being drafted.
Passed On: Boris Diaw, Brian Cook, Carlos Delfino, Leandro Barbosa, Josh Howard

2004-05 Kris Humphries (14), Kirk Snyder (16); chose Pavel Podkolzin (21) then traded him to Dallas for their 2005-06 first round pick
Comment: Neither Humphries nor Snyder were impact players for Utah. Currently, neither play is on the team’s roster. However, the first round pick acquired from Dallas ended up paying off well for the Jazz.
Passed On: Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, Jameer Nelson, Delonte West, Kevin Martin

These five drafts provided no significant players for the Jazz and contributed to the low point for the organization. In the 2004-05, the Jazz went 26-56 and finished with the third worse record in the NBA.

Since then, however, the Jazz have turned things around. On the night of the 2005-06 draft, the Jazz traded their sixth pick and twenty-seventh pick to Portland for the third pick. With that pick, Utah drafted Deron Williams. In his rookie season, Williams finished fourth in the NBA among rookies in points per game, third in assists per game, and fourth in minutes per game. Although Utah only won forty-one games, it was obvious that they were making a step in the right direction. This year, Williams become one of the best point guards in the NBA and led Utah to playoff victories over Houston and Golden State before losing to the eventual champions, the San Antonio Spurs. In 2006-07, Williams finished amongst all NBA point guards, eight in points per game, second in assists per game, seventh in rebounds per game, and fifth in minutes per game.

In the second round, the Jazz selected C.J. Miles with the thirty-fourth pick and Robert Whaley with the fifty-first pick. Both players played in more than twenty games during their time with Utah, but neither is currently with the team.

In 2006-07, the Jazz selected three impact players: Ronnie Brewer at fourteen, Dee Brown at fourty-six, and Paul Millsap at fourty-seven. Brown saw time sporadically throughout last season, but will not be returning this year. Brewer and Millsap both figure into Utah’s long-term plans. In this past draft, the Jazz selected Morris Almond at twenty-five and Herbert Hill at fifty-five. Hill most likely will not be a relevant addition to Utah, but Almond could play a big factor almost immediately. Almond has an NBA-ready body and is an excellent perimeter shooter. He moves well without the ball and has shown an effective post game. Ball handling and quickness are the two biggest areas Almond needs to improve on.

With a core of Brewer, Millsap, Williams, and Almond added to the veterans the Jazz have on their roster, O'Connor has put together a team that should be able to contend consistently for the years to come. Mehmet Okur, Carlos Boozer, and Matt Harpring are important pieces to Utah's success, but without the Jazz's savvy drafting in the last three drafts, Utah would still be struggling to make the playoffs.