How do the Utah Jazz compare to their purple predecessors?

Reloaded Rosters

In addition to building a core and foundation, NBA teams must find the right supporting cast to become a championship team. Acquiring such a group of players is never easy, and more often than not NBA teams fail to add sufficient talent around their Hall of Fame player(s) to get them over the hump. It is a process of trial and error and needs constant tinkering to get it right.

The old rendition of the Jazz had their Hall of Fame core in place as early as 1988 when Sloan took over, but the Finals appearance didn’t happen until 1997. The team had an elite defensive anchor in Mark Eaton, and they even had Thurl Bailey and Jeff Malone averaging near 20 points per game to complement Malone in that department.

Eaton retired because of his age, and Thurl was traded for Tyrone Corbin in 1991.

Jeff Malone was declining and becoming ineffective, so the Jazz traded him in a package for a slightly younger Jeff Hornacek, who was a significant upgrade as a 3-point shooter. That trade, followed by a slew of other savvy moves, was what helped take Stockton and Malone from the playoffs to the NBA Finals.

Also, don’t underestimate the difference support players can make. Antoine Carr, Howard Eisley, Bryon Russell, and even Greg Ostertag chipped in to help the Jazz reach the Finals. It took years of trial and error for then-GM Scott Layden to get the right help in place.

Much like the Hornacek addition was a catalyst to the Jazz making the leap, I’m hoping Bogdanovic and Mike Conley can be the co-champions of that missing piece award. Bogey has been sensational for the Jazz in his first 14 games, and while Conley is yet to impress on his individual stat line, there’s no doubt his presence has helped Mitchell improve into a better all-star candidate.

The real X-factor for the ’19-20 version of the Utah Jazz to surpass their purple mountain predecessors is the bench. As it has been mentioned all week, Utah’s bench has been abysmal to start the season. If Emmanuel Mudiay, Jeff Green, and Joe Ingles can find a way to be effective without Mitchell or Gobert on the floor, then the Jazz can run a deeper and fresher team to the playoffs than they did in the ’90s.