Top 10 Draft-night blunders in Utah Jazz history

The Utah Jazz have come away with some incredible steals in the NBA Draft over the years, but their draft-night misses have been equally monumental.

Last week, I took a look at some of the real success stories the Utah Jazz have enjoyed in the NBA Draft over the years. For example, when they picked up Hall of Famers John Stockton and Karl Malone outside of the Top 10 in 1984 and ’85. Or their many second-round steals, i.e. Paul Millsap and Bryon Russell.

Despite the presence of some epic draft-day wins, though, the Jazz have also had their fair share of big misses throughout the years. Some of them were huge; situations where players completely bombed or set the franchise back in a major way.

I’m not talking about situations like the LA Lakers dealing D’Angelo Russell, a former No. 2 overall pick, for Brook Lopez, because he’ll only be “pretty good.” They created room to get a superstar with the move and already have a second swing at a point guard who could be great in the bank.

We’re talking about total failure.

So here they are in all their glory — the Top 10 biggest draft blunders in Utah Jazz history.

Next: No. 10

10) Their Entire 2004 Draft

There was a bit of a buzz surrounding the Utah Jazz heading into the ’04 NBA Draft. The team had just completed an exciting season in which they nearly made the playoffs with a roster featuring Andrei Kirilenko, Matt Harpring and Carlos Arroyo, and had three-first round picks in the coffers.

Unfortunately, then-GM Kevin O’Connor ended up having what was probably his worst draft as the team’s top decision-maker.

With their picks at Nos. 14 and 16, the Jazz went with Kris Humphries and Kirk Snyder. The future (and now former) Mr. Kardashian eventually became a solid pro, but was a bad fit in Utah and after proclaiming himself a Rookie of the Year front-runner, Snyder crashed and burned out of the league and would eventually do hard time in a correctional facility.

Their selection at No. 21 was Pavel Podkolzin, who was shipped to the Dallas Mavericks.

Next: No. 9

9) Jose Ortiz (1987)

Puerto Rican baller Jose Ortiz was a big deal in the mid-80s for fans of college basketball on the west coast. At Oregon State, he was a star, averaging nearly 20 points and nine rebounds per game over two seasons. In ’87, he even beat out Reggie Miller for Pac-10 Player of the Year honors.

All the ingredients were seemingly there for Ortiz to make an impact for the Jazz. Unfortunately, he never made it happen.

Instead of joining the Jazz immediately, Ortiz elected play in Spain for a year. When he finally came to Utah for the 1988-89 NBA season, he had a hard time getting off of the bench. As a rookie, he averaged less than three points in six minutes per contest. Midway through his second season, the Jazz unceremoniously waived him.

Next: No. 8

8) Dealing for Curtis Borchardt (2002)

On TNT’s live telecast of the ’02 draft, future Jazz coach Quin Snyder had a lot of nice things to say about Curtis Borchardt’s burgeoning skillset. I’m not picking on Coach Q — ESPN called Borchardt a Top 10 talent in their write-up on the big man ahead of the draft and they weren’t alone in that thinking.

The honorable mention All-American out of Stanford had the look of a highly-skilled center with a smooth offensive game and shot-blocking ability to boot. The rub was that Borchardt had recurring issues with stress fractures in his foot; a death knell for big men trying to go through the NBA grind.

Nevertheless, the Jazz pulled off a draft-night trade with the Orlando Magic to acquire his services. And, sure enough, he missed the entirety of the 2002-03 season and failed to make an impact in two subsequent seasons in Utah. He was out of the league by 2005.

Next: No. 7

7) Trading multiple firsts to select Trey Burke (2013)

Make no mistake about it, Trey Burke was a big name four years ago. He helped the Michigan Wolverines ascend to heights not seen since the Fab Five era, leading the team to the NCAA title game. In the process, he received national Player of the Year and All-American honors.

So, with Devin Harris on the outs, the Jazz moved two first-round picks (at Nos. 14 and 21) to move up and draft Burke in the Top 10, making him their point guard of the future. However, after three years of mediocre production at the point, the Jazz dealt Burke for little more than a second-round pick.

Last season he sat on the bench for the Washington Wizards. Meanwhile, the players drafted with the picks Utah traded — Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng — have been solid contributors for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Next: No. 6

6) Luther Wright (1993)

With the No. 18 pick in the ’93 draft, the Jazz took Luther Wright, a bruising big man out of Seton Hall. Jazz legend and shot-blocker extraordinaire Mark Eaton was set to ride off into the sunset and some felt that Wright could come in an compete for a starting spot in the team’s front court next to Karl Malone.

Instead, he played just 15 games in a Jazz uniform — averaging 1.3 points per contest — before suffering a nervous breakdown. Wright’s struggles with childhood abuse and bipolar disorder simply got the better of him.

After his Jazz stint, he did time in a psychiatric facility, was homeless for several years, had his toes amputated and fought addiction and obesity in addition to his mental health issues.

Next: No. 5

5) The infamous Larry Knight pick (1979)

This list features several former first-round draft picks that failed to live up to the hype during their Jazz careers. However, their pick at No. 20 in the ’79 NBA Draft  — Loyola big man Larry Knight — didn’t even have a career, for the Jazz or any other NBA team.

According to former Jazz coach and GM Frank Layden, Knight was a hard worker and great rebounder in college. But when he showed up for training camp, it became clear he just couldn’t hack it, even for a Jazz team with little talent that languished in the league’s cellar.

Years later, Tom Nissalke, who coached the Jazz at the time, told the Deseret News that Knight was “so inept” offensively. He may have lacked some of the mental fortitude to succeed in the league as well.

Here’s Nissalke on severing ties with Knight —

"Nissalke remembers delivering the news that he’d been cut. “I just said, ‘You’re not gonna make the team,” Nissalke said. Knight’s reaction? “No reaction,” Nissalke said."

Next: No. 4

4) The Epic Fail of 2011

The wounds are still pretty fresh with this one.

2011 could’ve been a huge draft year for the Jazz, potentially spring-boarding them into the upper crust of the Western Conference. Thanks to the Deron Williams trade, the Jazz were drafting in the Top 3 and seemingly had a chance to bring a real difference-maker into the fold. Instead, they drafted Enes Kanter.

They could’ve picked Williams’ replacement in Kemba Walker — an All-Star this past season — or Brandon Knight, who has averaged 15 points, four assists and three rebounds during his career. It would’ve seemed like a stretch at the time, but Klay Thompson was available as well.

Instead, they went big with a guy who, just a few short years later, would go on to kill his own value by demanding a trade and get himself shipped off to Oklahoma City for what has essentially amounted to nothing.

Related Story: NBA mock draft 2017: The P&B consensus for the entire first round

Then, in the late lottery, the Jazz picked Alec Burks at No. 12 instead of Kawhi Leonard, a favorite of Jazz fans after his duels with BYU star Jimmer Fredette in the Mountain West Conference. Burks has gone on to be perpetually injured and a financial burden for the Jazz while Leonard is one of the 10 best players in the NBA.

You try to cut Jazz brass some slack given the fact that Kawhi kind of came out of nowhere and his landing in San Antonio played a large role in his evolution as a player. But the Burks pick in tandem with Enes the Menace make it hard to shake the memories of the ’11 draft.

Next: No. 3

3) The Dominique Wilkins Debacle (1982)

Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins is a bona fide Hall of Famer and was one of the most electrifying scorers and impressive dunkers in NBA history. However, he spurned the Jazz while on his path to superstardom.

Back in ’82, the Jazz had some solid pieces in Adrian Dantley, Rickey Green and Darrell Griffith. On the whole, though, they were still one of the worst teams in the league, earning the No. 3 pick in that year’s draft as a result.

They went with Wilkins, a can’t-miss prospect from the Georgia Bulldogs. The only problem there is that he had no desire to play for the franchise. Later that summer, the Jazz dealt Wilkins to the Hawks for cash, John Drew and Freeman Williams.

It remains one of the most lopsided trades in league history. Williams played just 18 games in a Jazz uniform, while Drew called it quits three years later.

2) D-Will over CP3 (2005)

First thing’s first — I am not, nor have I ever been, a Deron Williams hater. Quite to the contrary, he remains one of my all-time favorite Jazzmen (and one that I would like to see return to Utah one day). Having said that, I’ll set my personal bias to the side and admit that the Jazz probably screwed the pooch on this one.

Just ahead of the ’05 draft, Kevin O’Connor moved Heaven and Earth to get into the Top 3 so the Jazz could acquire the franchise point-man they had been missing since John Stockton’s retirement. Chris Paul was the top floor general on the board that year, but the team was enamored with D-Will’s size.

So they went with Williams, and while it didn’t feel like a home run, it was a selection you could get behind. By the end of draft night, I was among those who had convinced themselves that Williams was the greatest thing since sliced bread. And, for a time, he was one of the league’s best players.

However, he was seemingly always chasing Paul’s shadow. And while CP3 has gone on to become one of the best point guards ever to play the game, Williams’ body and skills have been in steady decline for five-plus years. In this year’s NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he averaged just one point per game on 2-of-16 shooting.

He’s also credited by some with running Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan out of the league.

It’s weird, the Williams pick changed so much for the Jazz in such a great way. They rose back to prominence, made it to the Western Conference Finals and put the beatdown on a Houston Rockets team that may have won a title if they hadn’t matched up with the Jazz in the playoffs.

At the same time, had Paul joined the Jazz instead, the team may have enjoyed a decade-plus of sustained success and contended for titles.

Next: No. 1

1) Raul Lopez over Tony Parker (2001)

Back in 2001, the Jazz were in a bit of a bind. They still ranked among the best teams in the league, but the end of the road was beginning to appear on the horizon. It had become apparent that the team would have to begin considering life after the Hall of Fame connection of Stockton-to-Malone.

So the team went into the ’01 draft looking for a point guard to be John Stockton’s understudy and, eventually, take the reins from the league’s all-time leader in assists and steals. To that end, there were two players that the Jazz liked when they were on the clock with the No. 24 pick.

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One was Raul Lopez, the other was Tony Parker. They bet on the wrong horse.

Utah ultimately went with Lopez, who was an exciting talent, but had severe knee problems. He would eventually play for the team and was a solid back-up during the 2003-04 season, but he was out of the league a year later.

In the meantime, Parker won four titles, played in six All-Star games and will one day join Stockton in the HOF.