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 26, 2003 – Madison Square Garden, New York City
Previous season:
The Stockton-Malone era in Utah sadly ended with a whimper. In 2002-03, the Jazz went 47-35 and lost to the Kings in five games in the first round. Shockingly, nobody realized it was the end of the dynasty until John Stockton abruptly announced his retirement in May. Karl Malone was a free agent, but not ready to retire yet. However, at the time of the draft, he still wasn't sure if he wanted to return to Utah for his 19th season. The entire organization wasted most of the offseason waffling on whether to start the rebuild or try to use their cap room to make one more run at the Finals. Ultimately, Malone went to the Lakers, leaving Utah with only two good young players — Matt Harpring and Andrei Kirilenko. In other words, completely unprepared for life without Stockton and Malone.
The draft:
General manager Kevin O'Connor used the 19th pick on a Montenegrin swingman named Aleksander "Sasha" Pavlovic.
With the 47th pick, the Jazz took a point guard from Alabama named Maurice "Mo" Williams.
Analysis:
Pavlovic only spent one quiet season in Utah before he was snatched up by the Charlotte Bobcats in the expansion draft. The Jazz didn't want to lose him, but they had to make somebody available for the new team, and Pavlovic seemed the most expendable. They ultimately didn't miss out on much. Pavlovic did linger around the NBA for about a decade, but had a rather mediocre career.
There are quite a few decent, respectable players available in this draft, but there aren't any replacements for Stockton and Malone. So I'm going to simply grab a superior version of Pavlovic — Kyle Korver. He eventually did join the Jazz — twice, in fact — but both times were at the wrong time of his career. Korver was plagued by injuries during his two-and-a-half seasons, and he was simply too old when he came back for 54 games in 2019. But in between those stints, Korver underwent a rigorous training program, finally became healthy, and was named to the All-Star team for Atlanta. He was a fan favorite in Utah, and ended his career as one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. Even though he wasn't taken until the 51st pick, I'd like him to start his career in Utah, and I don't feel bad about grabbing him at No. 19.
Williams also had a quiet rookie campaign for Utah, but he showed just enough promise for the Jazz to protect him from the expansion draft. However, O'Connor shockingly refused to match Milwaukee's offer once Williams became a restricted free agent. He went on to have a terrific career and become an All-Star. O'Connor lamented this as one of his greatest mistakes, and brought Williams back in 2012, but he was old and injured by that point. So I am going to recommend that the Jazz go ahead and draft him like they wanted to. But I'm also going to give O'Connor strict instructions to hold on to him this time.
My advice:
1. Use the 19th pick on Kyle Korver.
2. Use the 47th pick on Mo Williams.
This draft wasn't a huge game changer for a team about to be thrust into a massive rebuild. But I have given them two nice pieces that fill in around Harpring, Kirilenko and whoever else O'Connor can pick up in free agency. The biggest thing is to make sure Korver and Williams are protected from the expansion draft. I'd rather lose Jarron Collins (as nice as he was) than either of All-Stars.
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