The ledger
Arrival in Utah (1979–1984)1980–81 Utah Jazz
The seventh season in franchise history and the second in Salt Lake City. It began with the best stretch of basketball the Utah Jazz had yet played and then fell apart in a hurry.
26 in, 1 out. Every move the record shows for this season, with the reason where a source gives one. Where no reason is documented, the entry says nothing rather than guess.
In
26 ARRIVED1980 NBA draft first round pick (#2 overall)
- Utah took him second overall in 1980 to replace Pete Maravich at the box office, and he never played for another NBA club. In October 1991 he asked Larry Miller to waive him — he believed he had two or three seasons left and wanted the chance to catch on elsewhere. Nobody signed him.
- Won the NCAA championship with Louisville in 1980, then was drafted second overall months later.
- Background: October 1991: he HIMSELF asks Larry Miller to release him. Miller recounts that Griffith called him from a trip out east and asked for a meeting. source
1980 NBA draft first round pick (#19 overall)
- Utah took him 19th overall in the 1980 draft and he debuted that October. He played two seasons of reserve minutes behind Rickey Green, then left as a free agent for Indiana in 1982 — his final NBA year.
- Was a first-round pick out of Georgetown in the era just before Patrick Ewing arrived.
- Background: Drafted 19th overall by the Utah Jazz in the 1980 draft (the same draft in which the Jazz took Darrell Griffith 2nd overall — Rookie of the Year with 20.6 ppg). source
1980 NBA draft fourth round pick (#72 overall)
Alan Taylor never played a minute for the club
1980 NBA draft fifth round pick (#94 overall)
Wally West never played a minute for the club
1980 NBA draft sixth round pick (#118 overall)
Ken Cunningham never played a minute for the club
1980 NBA draft seventh round pick (#140 overall)
Dave Colescott never played a minute for the club
1980 NBA draft eighth round pick (#164 overall)
Jim Brandon never played a minute for the club
1980 NBA draft ninth round pick (#185 overall)
Paul Renfro never played a minute for the club
1980 NBA draft tenth round pick (#206 overall)
Leroy Coleman never played a minute for the club
signed veteran free agent to a 2-year contract
- Utah signed him as a veteran free agent on July 28, 1980 and traded him to Detroit a year later for the third-round pick that became Jerry Eaves.
- Born in Salt Lake City and played college ball at the University of Utah.
- Background: NO reason FOUND. Checked: Wikipedia (Jeff Judkins and the Jazz 1980-81 season), the local base data/wikibase/master/jeff-judkins.md, ESPN. Not one source explains why Utah takes him in July 1980, nor why it trades him to Detroit a year later. source
signed free agent to a multi-year contract
- He signed with Utah as a free agent on July 27, 1980 and made his NBA debut that October.
- Began his college career at UCLA before transferring to UNLV.
trade with Mavericks
- Utah traded two second-round picks to Dallas for him on September 11, 1980, and traded him on to Denver for Carl Nicks that December.
- Became an NBA general manager after retiring, working for Minnesota, Detroit and Seattle.
- the club gave up: 1983 second round pick (#30-Mark West (Andre)), future considerations (1984 second round pick (#40-Anthony Teachey))
signed free agent
trade with Warriors
- Golden State sent him to Utah for Bernard King on September 11, 1980 — a striking swap in retrospect, given what King became. On August 20, 1981 the Jazz traded Cooper and Allan Bristow to Dallas for Bill Robinzine.
- Played fourteen NBA seasons across six franchises.
- Background: WHY. Utah parted with King after one catastrophic season. In 1979-80 King played only 19 games with 9.3 points. On 1 January 1980 he was arrested in Salt Lake City on a complaint of forcible sexual assault, and in June 1980 he pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of attempted forcible sexual abuse and received a fine and a suspended sentence. In his 2017 biography King calls the late 1970s "the darkest period of my life" because of alcohol. source
- ARRIVAL. 11 September 1980: Golden State sent Wayne Cooper and a 1981 second-round pick to Utah for Bernard King. source
- the club gave up: Bernard King
signed first round pick to a 5-year contract
signed first round pick to a multi-year contract
signed free agent
- San Antonio drafted him 37th overall in 1977 and cut him before the season. He spent three years in Italy, Turkey and the CBA, signed with Utah in December 1980, and was traded back to San Antonio in February 1986 for Marc Iavaroni and Jeff Cook.
- Played 427 games for the Jazz, more than most players on the wanted list combined.
- Background: The Spurs sign him in July 1977 and release him before the start of the 1977-78 season — that is, he does not play a single game for them then. source
signed free agent
- He arrived in 1980 and took the club to its first playoffs and first division title. By 1988 John Stockton had the job, and rather than spend one of eight protected spots on a 34-year-old, Utah left him unprotected in the expansion draft. Charlotte took him.
- Led the NBA in steals in 1983–84 and made the All-Star team that season.
- Background: 1988: with John Stockton emerging, the Jazz left the 34-year-old Green unprotected in the expansion draft rather than waste one of the eight protected slots. Charlotte took him. source
signed free agent to a 10-day contract
- He signed a 10-day contract on December 9, 1980, a second ten days later, and was waived on December 29.
- Won gold with the United States at the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan.
re-signed to a second 10-day contract (date approximate)
trade with Nuggets
- Denver traded him to Utah for Billy McKinney in December 1980, a few weeks into his rookie year. He played all 80 games the next season, then the Jazz released him in 1982 and he finished with nine games in Cleveland.
- Played alongside Larry Bird on Indiana State's 1979 national runner-up team.
- Background: Selected 23rd overall by Denver in the 1980 draft out of Indiana State (Larry Bird's team). source
- the club gave up: Billy McKinney
signed free agent to a 10-day contract
- He signed a 10-day contract on January 3, 1981, a second ten days later, then for the rest of the season. Utah waived him the following October.
- Left college early to sign with the ABA, an unusual route in the mid-1970s.
re-signed to a second 10-day contract
re-signed for the remainder of the season
re-signed to a 3-year contract
signed free agent to a 1-year contract
Out
1 LEFTtrade with Cavaliers
- THE REASON for the end of his stay is NOT RECORDED in the accessible sources. There is no report of a release, a trade or an injury. Do not search again without new archive access (Salt Lake City newspapers, summer/autumn 1980). <->