Adrian Dantley, Jeff Hornacek and the five best trades in Utah Jazz history
By Ryan Aston
2) Jazz Swing Jeff Malone For Jeff Hornacek; February 24, 1994
The Jazz acquire Jeff Hornacek, Sean Green and a future second-round pick from the Philadelphia 76ers for the aforementioned Jeff Malone and a first-round pick.
As sweet as Jeff Malone’s shot was for the Jazz in the early ’90s, his greatest contribution to the team may have come when he was sent packing.
By using Malone to acquire Jeff Hornacek from Philly, the Jazz turned their superstar duo into a Big 3. Indeed, Hornacek was the final piece Utah needed to become a legit title contender and one of the West’s elite squads.
Upon his arrival, ‘Horny’ was one of the best pure shooters in basketball. He had a sweet stroke, crazy range and was automatic at the free throw line. Moreover, his basketball IQ was top-shelf, his defense was vastly underrated and he could even spell Stockton as the lead ball-handler at times.
Although his role with the Jazz was different/reduced from his Suns/76ers days (dude played in the ’92 NBA All-Star Game), Hornacek’s importance to the Jazz can’t be overstated.
Really, bringing him in was the move that changed everything in Jazzland. The team went from flaking out in the playoffs’ first-round the season before to playing in the conference finals that year. Three years later, they were squaring off with MJ for a world championship.
Over the course of seven seasons with the Jazz, Hornacek averaged 14.4 points and four assists per game. He also hit 49.4 percent of his shot attempts, just under 43 percent from 3-point land and nearly 90 percent from the charity stripe.
Meanwhile, Malone was nearing the end of the line and had been beaten down by injuries. The move to swap the two was made at just the right time for the Jazz.
Next: AD joins the fledgling Jazz