Jazz Hitting the Right NBA Draft Notes?
How have Utah's first-round NBA Draft picks panned out in the 21st Century?
Barring any draft-night trades, the Utah Jazz will have a single pick in the 2021 NBA Draft on Thursday night. Utah holds the 30th pick, the final first-round selection, in this year’s draft by virtue of having the league’s top regular-season record during the 2020-21 season.
With the Jazz heading into luxury tax territory if they bring back Mike Conley as expected, using the 30th pick as a part of trade package or as a means to find an inexpensive rotational player are both plausible scenarios. Will Utah succeed in this endeavor? Recent history shows us the Jazz own a spotty track record with developing their own first-round draft picks into long-term contributors.
I examined 25 first-round picks owned by Utah from 2001 to 2020 to see how each player panned out for the Jazz. This analysis does not include draft picks owned by other teams that Utah acquired through trades during the NBA draft. (Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, for example, were both sent to the Jazz through draft-night trades after being selected by Denver.) The scope of this article is limited to players selected with draft picks that the Jazz owned going into NBA Draft day.
Trade Bait
A surprisingly large number of first-round picks over the last 20 years never played a second of basketball for the Jazz. 32% of the 25 first-round picks in this 20-year span were traded away on draft day or before their rookie seasons started. Only a handful found success with other teams and none progressed past being a role player.
The eight players falling into this category include Ryan Humphrey (2001, 19th pick), Pavel Podkolzin (2004, 21st pick), Shabazz Muhammad (2013, 14th pick), Gorgui Dieng (2013, 21st pick), Taurean Prince (2016, 12th pick), Tyler Lydon (2017, 24th pick), Josh Hart (2017, 30th pick), Darius Bazley (2019, 23rd pick).
All-Stars
Only two players among 25 first-round picks owned by Utah going into draft day from 2001 to 2020 ultimately became NBA all-stars while playing for the Jazz.
Deron Williams (2005, 3rd pick): Utah selected Williams ahead of Chris Paul in the 2005 NBA Draft. The Jazz made a solid pick with Williams, who blossomed into an elite point guard in Jerry Sloan’s final seasons at the helm. He averaged 17.3 points and 9.1 assists over 5 1/2 seasons before being traded to New Jersey in 2011 and helped lead Utah to the 2007 Western Conference Finals.
Gordon Hayward (2010, 9th pick): Jazz fans famously booed Hayward’s selection in 2009. Their anger only worsened when he signed with Boston as a free agent after seven seasons in Utah. Between those two points in time, Hayward blossomed into a bona fide star for the Jazz. He averaged 21.9 points and 5.4 rebounds during his final season in Utah and earned his lone NBA all-star selection to date.
Key Contributors
A handful of first-round Jazz picks never progressed to an all-star level but still carved out a niche as a valuable role player during their time in Utah.
Ronnie Brewer (2006, 14th pick): After joining the Jazz, Brewer quickly earned a starting role and spent 3 1/2 seasons in Utah before getting shipped off to Memphis in a trade. He offered valuable perimeter defense and evolved into a nice complementary scorer for the Jazz. Brewer averaged 10.5 points per game on 52.3% shooting during his time in Utah.
Enes Kanter (2011, 3rd pick): Once Gobert started emerging as an elite defensive player, Kanter’s days with the Jazz were numbered. Before that happened, he had become Utah’s starting center during his third season. Kanter averaged 9.3 points on 50.1% shooting over 3 1/2 seasons. He was averaging a then career-best 13.8 points and 7.8 rebounds during his fourth season before Utah shipped Kanter off to Oklahoma City in February 2015.
Alec Burks (2011, 12th pick): A series of injuries ultimately derailed Burks right at the moment he seemed poised to break out as a star. But the former Colorado guard still managed to be a valuable rotational player when healthy over 7 1/2 seasons. He averaged 9.6 points over 382 games with Utah before the Jazz dealt him to Cleveland for Kyle Korver in November 2018.
Rodney Hood (2014, 23rd pick): During his first three seasons, Hood emerged as a nice complimentary outside scorer alongside Hayward. He appeared poised to succeed Hayward as Utah’s primary offensive threat at the start of his fourth season. But Hood lost his starting job to a talented rookie named Donovan Mitchell and the rest was history. Hood was dealt to Cleveland in February 2018 for Jae Crowder. He averaged 13.1 points per game over 3 1/2 seasons with Utah.
Busts
Numerous Jazz first-round picks over the past two decades, 40% to be exact, never panned out. Injuries, poor skill development, and other factors were culprits in these 10 players never realizing their potential. They ultimately ended up being traded away or cut from the roster after one or more disappointing seasons.
Raul Lopez (2001, 24th pick): The Jazz famously drafted Lopez ahead of Tony Parker and the decision came back to haunt Utah. Lopez lasted only two seasons before knee injuries got the better of him. Parker went on to be a six-time all-star and helped lead San Antonio to four NBA titles.
Sasha Pavlovic (2003, 19th pick): Pavlovic was a nice bench player in his rookie season. He averaged 4.8 points in 14.5 minutes per game. The Montenegrin forward never got a chance to do anything else in Utah. Charlotte took him in the 2004 NBA expansion draft and traded Pavlovic to Cleveland a day later.
Kris Humphries (2004, 14th pick): Long before he became famous for an extremely brief marriage to Kim Kardashian, Humphries toiled for two seasons on the Jazz roster. Utah held high hopes for developing him into a star power forward. Humphries struggled to carve out any significant role with the Jazz, averaging 3.6 points in 11.6 minutes per game before getting traded to Toronto for Rafael Araújo in 2006.
Kirk Snyder (2004, 16th pick): Snyder lasted a single season before getting traded away. He averaged 5.0 points while playing 13.3 minutes per game, but shot just 37.2% from the field. Snyder lasted only five seasons in the NBA and later spent a couple of years in jail on aggravated burglary charges.
Morris Almond (2007, 25th pick): After emerging as a prolific scorer at Rice, Almond never developed his offensive game enough to stick at the NBA level. He appeared in only 34 games over two seasons in Utah, averaging 3.1 points per game while shooting 38.5% from the field.
Kosta Koufos (2008, 23rd pick): Koufos enjoyed a long NBA career and earned a role as a starter during stints with Denver and Sacramento. He did nothing of note with the Jazz. Koufos lasted two seasons in Utah before getting traded to Minnesota for Al Jefferson in 2010. He appeared in 84 games with the Jazz and averaged 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 8.8 minutes per game.
Eric Maynor: (2009, 20th pick): Maynor never had a chance to make any real impact with the Jazz. He was traded to Oklahoma City after just 25 games to help Utah cut costs and avoid the luxury tax. In his brief stint in Utah, he averaged 5.2 points and 3.1 assists in 14.0 minutes per game. Maynor bounced around the NBA for five seasons before deciding to pursue a coaching career.
Dante Exum (2014, 5th pick): Injuries derailed multiple seasons for Exum and he ultimately fell out of Quin Snyder’s rotation before being traded to Cleveland for Jordan Clarkson in December 2019. When he was healthy, Exum never developed into much of an offensive threat. He also regressed defensively near the end of his stint in Utah. Exum ended up spending 5 1/2 seasons with the Jazz, averaging 5.7 points and 2.2 assists in 18.6 minutes while appearing in 215 games.
Trey Lyles (2015, 12th pick): Three-hour practices were the least of Lyles’ problems in Utah. He regressed as a shooter in his second season, making just 31.9% from 3-point range, and ultimately ended up getting traded to Denver in June 2017 for the draft rights to Mitchell. Lyles averaged 6.1 points in 16.8 minutes per game over 151 games for the Jazz.
Grayson Allen (2018, 21st pick): Allen emerged as a valuable rotation player for Memphis this past season. But he spent only a single season in Utah before getting shipped out to the Grizzlies in the July 2019 trade that brought Mike Conley to the Jazz. Allen saw limited playing time during his rookie season, appearing in only 38 games. He averaged 5.6 points in 11.0 minutes per game — highlighted by a 40-point outburst against the Los Angeles Clippers to cap off the regular season.
Incomplete
Only one of the aforementioned 25 draft picks remains on the current Jazz roster.
Udoka Azubuike (2020, 27th pick): The jury is still out on what Azubuike will ultimately do with the Jazz. His rookie season was marred by a severe ankle injury that kept him sidelined much of the season. Azubuike ultimately appeared in 15 games last season and mostly played limited minutes in blowouts. He averaged 1.1 points and 0.9 rebounds in 3.8 minutes per game.