Utah Jazz fans remember the turbulence that came right before the downfall of the Deron Williams/Jerry Sloan era. However, as bad as things turned out, it could have been much worse had the Jazz acquired Carmelo Anthony, who, from the horse's mouth, was apparently very much on the table.
Anthony confirmed on his podcast, "7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony," that his original team, the Denver Nuggets, planned to send him to the Jazz because they wanted an esteemed Jazz alum to start a rebuild. What stopped them was Anthony's desire to join the New York Knicks.
"They say, oh no, because New York has nothing that we want, but we have a deal in Utah for you," Anthony said. "George Karl wanted to send me to Utah. They had a deal for Derrick Favors. He wanted Derrick Favors because they were rebuilding, so he wanted a young power forward."
Favors was both a rookie and the No. 3 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft who started his career with the then-New Jersey Nets. Regardless of how Favos turned out, it made sense.
Keep in mind that some of the details in Anthony's story don't add up. He was traded the day before Williams was, meaning Favors was still a Net when Anthony was traded. So either the Nuggets had a deal in place to send him to the Nets or there was a three-way trade sending Anthony to the Jazz, Williams to the Nets, and Favors to the Nuggets.
Given that Anthony name-dropped the Jazz while talking about it, it seems most likely that the scenario was the latter before things turned out the way they did.
Pairing Anthony, one of the league's best scorers at the top of his game, with the likes of Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap is an intriguing idea. However, knowing the additional details of the situation, it's fair to say that Utah's passing on Anthony was the right call.
This still would have been a disaster anyway
As Anthony pointed out, and anyone who remembers his time with the Knicks, he was going to New York one way or the other. His contract was set to expire that season, meaning his move to New York was happening in the offseason at the latest.
Even if Anthony played his heart out with the Jazz, he would have left them, leaving them with no hope for the future. Favors may not have turned into a star, but he gave the Jazz hope following the Williams' fallout and became a fan favorite as he spent his prime in Utah. That counts for something, even if Enes Freedom (who the Jazz also got because of the Nets) was a bust.
It's weird to say a team was right to pass up on acquiring a Hall of Famer when he was at the top of his game, and this doesn't reflect on Anthony absolutely deserving to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer this year at all, but knowing all the context, Utah was right to pass on him.