I have been cursed by a witch to repeatedly travel back through time to relive every NBA draft. Fortunately, her spell sends me directly to the Utah Jazz war room on draft night and all the executives magically know I’m from the future and will do whatever I say. Unfortunately, the curse prevents me from seeing how my advice altered the future, as I am sent back to the previous year as soon as draft night ends.
June 28, 2007 – Madison Square Garden, New York City
Previous season:
After going 51-31 in the 2006-07 season, the Jazz pulled off a dramatic 7-game victory over Houston in the first round, beat the outmatched Warriors 4-1 in the second round, before being crushed 4-1 by San Antonio. It remains the last time Utah reached the Western Conference Finals. Granted, the Jazz got incredibly lucky when Golden State upset the 67-win Mavericks in the first round. But it still was a good sign for such a young roster — only Matt Harpring and Derek Fisher had more than five years of experience. It seemed all Utah needed to do was add a solid sharpshooter and they’d be set. (Gordan Giricek was NOT getting it done.)
The draft:
With the 25th pick, Kevin O’Connor drafted a sharpshooter from Rice named Morris Almond.
With the 55th pick, the Jazz selected Providence forward Herbert Hill and immediately traded him to Philadelphia for the 38th pick, Ukrainian center Kyrylo Fesenko. Officially, the Jazz were also supposed to give the 76ers “future considerations” for this seemingly lopsided trade. However, I could find no record of what those considerations ended up being.
Previously, I had mentioned O’Connor’s unusually friendly relationship with Philadelphia, his former team. At the 2007 trade deadline, Philadelphia was in danger of going over the salary cap, so they traded Alan Henderson to Utah, along with some cash and the right to swap second-round picks in exchange for … absolutely nothing. Utah immediately waived Henderson, who promptly re-signed with Philadelphia. A few months later, the 76ers seemed to honor this trade by drafting Fesenko for Utah. But O’Connor oddly insisted that the Fesenko trade had nothing to do with the Henderson trade. Yet he refused to explain what else the 76ers wanted in exchange for swapping the 38th pick with the 55th.
My guess is that the Henderson trade was O’Connor doing a favor for his old friends. And then he sheepishly forgot to exercise the pick swap before the draft. His Philadelphia buddies were happy to grant the late swap, but it technically had to recorded as a new, separate trade. And then O’Connor was too embarrassed to admit his mistake later. This is entirely my speculation on the scenario, and it ultimately doesn’t matter.
Analysis:
Morris Almond’s career (or lack of one) remains a perplexing mystery for me. On paper, he was everything the Jazz wanted. He put up big numbers in college and was dominant in the NBA’s Development League. But for some reason, he just could not get any action in real NBA games. And this wasn’t just a case of Jerry Sloan refusing to play his rookies. After two seasons and just 34 games in Utah, Almond spent three years in basketball purgatory (D-League and Europe) before appearing in four games with Washington. And then he retired. I don’t think he had a serious injury. He just … wasn’t that good.
Luckily, I have a solid pick at shooting guard, who was drafted just two spots below Almond. UCLA’s Arron Afflalo enjoyed a productive 11-year career, shooting 38% from 3-point range. I think he would have made a bigger impact on Utah’s roster than Almond.
Herbert Hill never played in the NBA, so the Jazz truly got Fesenko for free. Unfortunately, he never made much of an impact. Perhaps partly due to his enormous size, the Jazz really seemed invested in him and allowed him to stick around for four years — he even got to start nine playoff games in 2010. But his play never rose above the level of frustrating mediocrity. He joined the Pacers after his stint with the Jazz, but only lasted three games with them before exiting the league for good.
Fortunately, at the 38th pick, I have a much, much, much better center available: Spain’s Marc Gasol. A three-time All-Star, member of an All-NBA First Team and Second Team, and a Defensive Player of the Year — I’d be insane to pass on him.
My advice:
1. Use the 25th pick on Arron Aflalo.
2. Tell Philadelphia to use the 38th pick on Marc Gasol and trade him for the 55th pick (Herbert Hill).
Of course, my plan depends entirely on the assumption that Philadelphia asked Utah who they wanted right before they made the 38th pick. If that wasn’t the case (and I’d have to confirm this before the drafting started), then I’d have to use the 25th pick on Gasol. He’s too good to risk losing over a gentleman’s agreement.
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