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 22, 1987 – Madison Square Garden, New York City
Previous season:
The 1986-87 Jazz were a young and upcoming team. Karl Malone wasn't quite an All-Star yet, but he did receive votes for both MVP and Most Improved Player. Mark Eaton led the league in blocks and finished third in voting for Defensive Player of the Year. But most frustratingly, head coach Frank Layden insisted on starting Rickey Green over John Stockton, even though Stockton put up superior numbers in limited minutes. Layden eventually learned the error of his ways during the first round of the playoffs, but he made the switch too late, and Utah fell to Golden State in five games.
The draft:
In the first round, Utah used the 15th pick on Oregon State power forward José Ortiz.
The Jazz didn't have a second-round pick this year, as it was included in the 1986 trade that send Adrian Dantley to Detroit for Kelly Tripucka. But the Jazz did have plenty of other picks in this seven-round draft.
In the third round, Utah used the 61st pick on Western Kentucky center Clarence Martin.
A 1986 trade that sent Fred Roberts to Boston gave the Jazz the 68th pick, which they used on Providence point guard Billy Donovan.
In the fourth round, Utah used the 84th pick on Alabama State center Reuben Holmes.
In the fifth round, the Jazz used the 107th pick on Nebraska-Kearney shooting guard Bart Kofoed.
In the sixth round, Utah used the the 130th pick on Bloomfield guard Art Sabb.
And finally, in the seventh round, the Jazz selected a guard from Harvard named Keith Webster with the 153rd pick. Whew!
Analysis:
José Ortiz was, and perhaps still is, considered the greatest basketball player to come from Puerto Rico. Even though he played at Oregon State, there was genuine concern that he had no interest in playing in the NBA, as that would prevent him from representing Puerto Rico in the playoffs. But apparently assured Jazz officials he would play in the NBA, and I'm sure Utah considered him quite the steal at No. 15. But the 1987 offseason was an odd one, where a league-wide moratorium prevented teams from hosting summer games or even contacting their draft picks for months. During this time, Oriz shocked the Jazz by signing a four-year deal with a team in Spain. So the Jazz played the 1987-88 season without their first-round pick.
In 1988, the Jazz got a strange idea stuck in their head that the best way forward was to create a three forward lineup of Karl Malone, Thurl Bailey and free agent Tom Chambers. But Phoenix offered Chambers a massive deal he couldn't refuse. Desperate to bring this three forward dream to life, Utah general manager Dave Checketts flew out to Spain once and Puerto Rico twice to personally negotiate with Ortiz. At first, Ortiz demanded to be traded to Miami, but the Jazz couldn't work out a deal. Ortiz eventually agreed to come to Utah, but getting out of his contract in Spain proved tricky. Utah's solution was an unconventional "trade." They released overweight Mel Turpin so he could take Ortiz's spot on his team in Spain.
Was Ortiz worth all that hassle? Absolutely not. The three forward lineup crashed and burned, as Ortiz was nowhere near the level of Malone and Bailey. He only managed 6 minutes per game in 64 games over two seasons before he demanded the Jazz waive him so he could return to Spain. And Ortiz went down in Jazz history as perhaps their worst draft pick of the decade.
Utah's other six picks of this draft didn't fare much better. Only two of them saw any NBA action. Billy Donovan played 44 games for the Knicks before becoming a legendary college coach, winning back-to-back NCAA championships with Florida. He's currently the head coach of the Chicago Bulls.
Fifth-round draft pick Bart Kofoed was the only pick this year that played for the Jazz in the 1987-88 season. And he miraculously managed to make Utah's roster despite breaking his foot. He played so well in the 1988 playoffs, the Jazz gave him a two-year contract. But then he got into a fight with Bobby Hansen at a New Year's Eve party and he ended up breaking Hansen's cheekbone. The Jazz promptly waived him, and he spent the next few years bouncing back and forth between the NBA and CBA.
So, we obviously have a lot of room for improvement. And we have seven draft picks to work with, which certainly makes things exciting! So let's run through this in rapid fire.
With their first-round pick, the Jazz should have taken Reggie Lewis. They didn't need a third forward to pair with Malone and Bailey — they needed a swingman who could do what Kelly Tripucka was supposed to do, but was unwilling/unable to. Lewis was an All-Star in Boston before shockingly dying at the age of 27. There seems to be a strong possibility his death was caused by cocaine use, so I'm going to take a chance on him. I know this sounds silly, but maybe — just maybe — he'll have a hard time finding cocaine in Salt Lake than Boston. And if not, then I'll still be happy with the handful of quality seasons he'd give the Jazz.
In the third round, I'd use the 61st pick on Kevin Gamble. He's also a swingman, but he actually had the best years of his career while playing alongside Lewis in Boston. So I'd like to see if the Jazz could capture some of that magic.
With the 68th pick, I'll take Chris Dudley, an unglamorous big man from Yale, who managed to have a 16-year NBA career due to his strong rebounding and shot-blocking.
In the fourth round, I wish I could recommend Sarunas Marciulionis. The Lithuanian Hall of Famer did have a decent NBA career, but he was technically ineligible to be drafted in 1987 because he was too old, according to the league's rules regarding European players at the time. So I'll instead take Scott Brooks, an undrafted point guard, who somehow ended up having a 10-year NBA career. Perhaps he could do better than Kofoed.
As for the last three remaining picks? I don't really care. There's no one else worth taking. Ironically, Kofoed was the best player from the fifth round, so I guess you might as well take him to compete with Brooks.
My advice:
1. Use the 15th pick on Reggie Lewis.
2. Use the 61st pick on Kevin Gamble.
3. Use the 68th pick on Chris Dudley.
4. Use the 84th pick on Scott Brooks.
5. Use the 107th pick on Bart Kofoed.
6. Use the 130th pick on Art Sabb.
7. Use the 153rd pick on Keith Webster.
Ironically, I'm actually most excited about adding Chris Dudley to the Jazz. I think his personality would have been a perfect fit in Utah, and he would have been an ideal backup to Mark Eaton. Maybe even his replacement later down the line. Reggie Lewis certainly is an intriguing pick, but Dudley promises the reliable dependability that every team needs from a role player.
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