Utah Jazz Trades: Ranking Two Decades of Deadline Deals
By Ryan Aston
8) Jazz Trade Ronnie Brewer to the Memphis Grizzlies; February 18, 2010
The Jazz receive a first-round draft pick and cap relief from Memphis in exchange for Ronnie Brewer.
When former Jazz GM Kevin O’Connor made the decision to deal Ronnie Brewer, you could see the logic in the move. The Jazz were in a bind at the time, facing a logjam on the wings, as well as a luxury tax payment at the end of the year. After completing the trade, O’Connor had this to say—
"“We felt like we gain an asset for drafts coming up. We felt like we had a lot of players that were similar.”"
The only problem with the deal is that Utah never saw much of a return on the “asset” they acquired. It was eventually tacked on as a tertiary part of the deal that brought Al Jefferson to Utah and was later used to select Donatas Motiejunas in 2011.
Furthermore, the trading of Brewer — a close friend of Deron Williams — drew the ire of the team’s franchise point-man. In response, he made his infamous, “That’s why I signed a three-year deal.” statement, referring to his decision to forego a full, max-years extension with the Jazz.