The ledger
Rebuild and the Deron years (2003–2011)2003–04 Utah Jazz
The 30th season in franchise history was the first without John Stockton and Karl Malone, and expectations collapsed accordingly. Several preview magazines, Sports Illustrated among them, picked the Jazz to finish near the bottom of the NBA, and some predictions went further and had Utah chasing the all-time record for fewest wins in a season.
23 in, 9 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
23 ARRIVED2003 NBA draft first round pick (#19 overall)
- Utah took him 19th overall in 2003, out of the LeBron James draft class, and traded him after one season.
- Started for Cleveland in the 2007 NBA Finals.
2003 NBA draft second round pick (#47 overall)
- Utah drafted him 47th in 2003 then declined to match Milwaukee's $5.5 million offer sheet in August 2004 — a call Kevin O'Connor later named the worst of his tenure. A four-team trade brought him back in June 2012 and Portland signed him in 2013.
- Was an NBA All-Star in 2009 alongside LeBron James in Cleveland.
- Background: Drafted by the Jazz 47th overall (second round) in 2003. source
- THE RETURN: June 29, 2012, a four-team deal — Williams returned to Utah, Lamar Odom went to the LA Clippers, the Jazz's trade exception went to Dallas, and the Clippers sent their second-round pick Furkan Aldemir to Houston. source
re-signed unrestricted free agent to a 1-year contract
trade with Kings
- He played two games for the Jazz before being traded to Phoenix on February 19, 2004 with Ben Handlogten, in the deal that brought Tom Gugliotta to Utah.
- Once blocked twelve shots in a single game for Toronto.
- the club gave up: 2004 second round pick (#48-Ricky Minard)
signed free agent to a 1-year contract
- He signed a one-year contract on August 6, 2003 and became a free agent when it ran out.
- Carved out nine NBA seasons almost entirely on rebounding and defence.
signed second round pick
- THE RETURN: June 29, 2012, a four-team deal — Williams returned to Utah, Lamar Odom went to the LA Clippers, the Jazz's trade exception went to Dallas, and the Clippers sent their second-round pick Furkan Aldemir to Houston. source
signed free agent
Ademola Okulaja never played a minute for the club
signed free agent
- He signed as an undrafted free agent on September 30, 2003 and debuted at 29. On February 19, 2004 the Jazz traded him and Keon Clark to Phoenix, and the Suns waived him the next day.
- Reached the NBA at 27 after five years in the CBA and overseas.
signed free agent
Demetrius Alexander never played a minute for the club
signed free agent
Jermaine Boyette never played a minute for the club
signed free agent
signed free agent
Lavor Postell never played a minute for the club
signed unrestricted free agent to a 2-year contract
- Undrafted, he first signed with Utah in 2003 and left for Phoenix in free agency. He returned on a three-year deal in July 2010, but after calling Tyrone Corbin unprofessional in May 2012 he never played for the Jazz again and was waived on March 10, 2013.
- Had two separate stints with the Jazz, eight years apart.
- Background: FIRST STINT, ARRIVAL: 26 September 2003. Official club announcement — Kevin O'Connor announced an agreement on a TWO-YEAR contract, signed after physicals. Bell came from Dallas, where he had played 75 games (32 starts) with 3.1 pts in 15.6 min. source
trade with Rockets
Glen Rice never played a minute for the club
- the club gave up: John Amaechi, 2004 second round pick (#55-Luis Flores), $6.5M trade exception
team exercised contract option through 2004-05
signed free agent
signed free agent to a 10-day contract
re-signed to a second 10-day contract
signed free agent to a 10-day contract
- Undrafted, the journeyman big spent the 2003-04 season in Utah — one stop of nine in the NBA — and was with the Clippers the following year.
- Went undrafted and still played thirteen NBA seasons.
re-signed to a second 10-day contract
trade with Magic
- Orlando sent him to Utah for DeShawn Stevenson and a second-round pick on February 19, 2004. After a heated timeout exchange with Jerry Sloan at Charlotte on December 19, 2007 he was sent home, and ten days later he was traded to Philadelphia for Kyle Korver.
- Was a EuroLeague standout in Croatia and Greece before his NBA career.
- Background: The same trade, confirmed by the CBC: 'Giricek, 26, was acquired from the Orlando Magic for DeShawn Stevenson and a second-round draft pick'. On the same day Utah also makes a second deal (Keon Clark and Ben Handlogten for Tom Gugliotta). source
- ARRIVAL — date and terms (confirmed by several sources): February 19, 2004, right before the trade deadline. Orlando sends Giricek to Utah for DeShawn Stevenson and a future second-rounder (per RealGM: a 2006 second-rounder, owned by Sacramento) plus an unspecified amount of cash. source
- the club gave up: DeShawn Stevenson, 2007 second round pick (#39-Stanko Barac)
trade with Suns
- Phoenix traded him to Utah in February 2004 with a first-round pick, a second and another protected first, for Keon Clark and Ben Handlogten. Jazz circles remember it as one of the better trades the club made — not for his play, but for the picks.
- Was an NBA All-Star in 1997 with Minnesota.
- the club gave up: Keon Clark, Ben Handlogten
signed free agent for the remainder of the season
Out
9 LEFTplayer became an unrestricted free agent
player became an unrestricted free agent
player became an unrestricted free agent
- The reason on Utah's side: his role had been sharply reduced. The previous season 71 games in the starting lineup, 12.6 points and 5.0 assists; in 2004-05 he starts only 16 of 30 games at 8.2 points — and that after a new contract signed in July 2004. Campbell is an expiring contract and frees up cap space for the summer. source
player became an unrestricted free agent
- THE END: his contract expired after the season. The summer of 2003 was the point of collapse for the Jazz — Stockton retired on May 2, 2003, Karl Malone went to the Lakers, and the club set out on a deliberate youth movement. Kevin O'Connor (VP) in July 2003: "One of the things we talked about was getting younger and more athletic." The 38-year-old Jackson was not brought back. source
player became an unrestricted free agent
- DEPARTURE — CONFIRMED: as of 2 July 2003 Padgett was on the Jazz's list of UNRESTRICTED free agents, along with Carlos Arroyo, Calbert Cheaney, Mark Jackson, Karl Malone and Tony Massenburg. That is, his rookie-scale contract expired on 1 July 2003 and the club did not renew it. source
- DEPARTURE — date: AP/wire reported that Houston signed Padgett on Tuesday and thereby FILLED OUT its 12-man roster for the season (published 27-28 October 2003). That is, Padgett was without a team all summer and was picked up only on the eve of the season. source
player became an unrestricted free agent
lost free agent (to Blazers)
- DEPARTURE — CONFIRMED: as of 2 July 2003 Padgett was on the Jazz's list of UNRESTRICTED free agents, along with Carlos Arroyo, Calbert Cheaney, Mark Jackson, Karl Malone and Tony Massenburg. That is, his rookie-scale contract expired on 1 July 2003 and the club did not renew it. source
- DEPARTURE — date: AP/wire reported that Houston signed Padgett on Tuesday and thereby FILLED OUT its 12-man roster for the season (published 27-28 October 2003). That is, Padgett was without a team all summer and was picked up only on the eve of the season. source
released (reached contract buyout agreement)
Glen Rice never played a minute for the club
contract expired