The number one trade by the Utah Jazz comes as a bit of a surprise

What Utah Jazz trade is considered the best in franchise history?

When you think about the Utah Jazz, one of the things that often gets overlooked is their ability to really hit trades out of the park. They’ve been able to time and time again get the best for players in trades, and while not everyone has worked out in their favor, they go the Jazz’s way more times than not. It’s a fascinating thing to look at, so it’s not surprising that Clutch Points decided to rank the Top 6 trades in franchise history.

What is surprising is the number one selection they went with. It’s a very good trade, admittedly, but is it the best in the franchise’s history? We argue not, but our reason has less to do with the return it brought, and more to do with how it’ll forever shape the franchise.

So, spoiler, Clutch Points named the trade that landed the Jazz Adrian Dantley. As Dantley is a Hall of Famer and built his resume with the franchise, it’s a fair pick. He’s not only one of the team’s best players, but he was one of the two biggest names on the squad when the team moved from New Orleans to Salt Lake City alongside Pete Maravich.

Great trade, truly. But we wouldn’t have picked this trade. While it’s fair to not look at the trades the Jazz made recently that sent Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell off to the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Cleveland Cavaliers respectively, as it’s too soon to see what the return will truly end up becoming, that doesn’t mean they’re out of the running.

Both Gobert and Mitchell leaving the team will shape the franchise for years to come, and so the trades that landed them should be considered. People often forget that neither Gobert nor Mitchell were drafted by Utah, and instead were acquired via a trade.

Dantley didn’t carry the Jazz to an NBA Championship, so it’s fair to say his trade was limited in its scope. The trades for Gobert and Mitchell not only brought two huge talents to Utah but also will now allow them to shape their destiny over the next decade in any way they see fit.

Dantley’s run with the franchise was spectacular, but when his time with the franchise ended, they were left worse off. That’s not the case with Mitchell and Gobert, at least comparatively. Already Walker Kessler (Gobert trade) and Lauri Markkanen (Mitchell trade) have exceeded anything Dantley brought back in return.

So for the fact that Dantley’s end with the franchise hurt the Jazz, while the ending of the Mitchell and Gobert tenures helped the Jazz, we’re going to say that the Mitchell and Gobert trades are tied for first.