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 27, 2001 – Madison Square Garden, New York City
Previous season:
The 2000-01 season was the beginning of the end for the Stockton-Malone dynasty. After earning a 53-29 record, the Jazz were stunned by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, losing the decisive Game 5 by one point. It was the first time Utah had failed to advance past the first round since 1995. What surprises me most about this team was how incredibly old it was. The Jazz had four players above the age of 35 averaging at least 20 minutes per game — Karl Malone, John Stockton, John Starks and Olden Polynice. This certainly helped explain the team's fast start to the season (and even the first two games of the playoffs) before ending in a whimper. But I'm not too critical of Utah's lack of focus on the future. It's hard to realize you're in the end of something when you're in the middle of it.
The draft:
Despite that lackluster ending to the season — and a rapidly aging roster — general manager Kevin O'Connor didn't see much need for an immediate influx of youth. With the 24th pick, he chose Spanish point guard Raul Lopez, who was widely touted as "the next John Stockton," but was still under contract with Real Madrid.
With the 53rd pick, the Jazz drafted Stanford big man Jarron Collins.
Analysis:
Many Jazz fans booed the Lopez pick because he was drafted ahead of Jamaal Tinsley and Tony Parker. Furthermore, the prospect of waiting a couple of years for Lopez's contract to expire was not enticing. Turns out, the bigger concern was injuries.
Shortly after being drafted by Utah, Lopez hurt his knee and only played in 14 games in the 2001-02 season for Real Madrid. This may have helped him negotiate a lower buyout with the Spanish club, but shortly after that — and before he officially signed with the Jazz — he tore his ACL. Utah signed him anyway, and he spent the entire 2002-03 season on the bench. In 2003-04, he was finally healthy and managed to play all 82 games of his long-awaited NBA rookie season.
Lopez did show promise when he was on the court, but in the 2004-05 season, he suffered yet another major knee injury. After playing just 31 more games, he was sent to Memphis as part of a four-team mega trade. The Grizzlies cut him and the NBA career of "the next John Stockton" came to a disappointing end. This was one of the times when the fans were right. The Jazz should have drafted Tony Parker instead. Do I need to explain why?
Collins had a much less dramatic NBA career. He just came in, and did his job efficiently and smartly. Never putting up big numbers, but always helping the team with the little intangibles like setting good screens and playing solid defense. He spent eight solid years in Utah, seeing a dip in minutes after the additions of Mehmet Okur and Paul Millsap, but still contributing in his own quiet way. I was briefly tempted to replace Collins with Andres Nocioni, but I think Collins was exactly the kind of player the Jazz needed at the time. I'm a firm believer in chemistry and attitude, and Collins was the perfect fit in that regard.
My advice:
1. Use the 24th pick on Tony Parker.
2. Use the 53rd pick on Jarron Collins.
Would Tony Parker have been a Final MVP and Hall of Fame inductee had he been drafted by the Jazz? I don't know. But I do firmly believe he would have been a major upgrade over the injury-plagued Raul Lopez.
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