# ESPN Says the Jazz traded D-Will



## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nba/news/story?id=6150419

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

Deron Williams for Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, 2 first round picks, and $3 million cash from the Nets.

Picks include New Jersey's lottery pick this year and Golden State's pick next year (which is a protected pick the Jazz might not get until later).


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

knew it!!! no sloan or dwill now..yikes!! hope we do somethin with those picks! last thing we need is some undeveloped Euro big guy!


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

CRUMBLE...I think Sloan made the powers that be realize what a bad egg they had and put in motion the process to get the guy out of here. It will be a while before the Jazz climb back up to a decent team. This season is a "write-off" and Williams did throw that game against Chicago. That game sent the message to Sloan that Williams was a bad egg, I'm glad the franchise opened their eyes too.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

This pretty much shows that the Jazz are in a "rebuilding" state of mind right now. Its going to be rough for the rest of the year, and also next, but I would guess they come out alright after that. Devin Harris is (or was) a decent player, but he ain't no D-Will. I'm glad the Jazz pulled the trigger on a deal though. It show's commitment to getting better, and it would have sucked to have been in Denver's shoes next year.


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

2 draft choices------------ we are going for the -------------------------------------------- 
JIMMER


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## holman927 (Sep 28, 2007)

Jimmer!!!!!!! Is right!


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

jimmer dominating mediocre college teams ain't the same as being able to play well in the NBA..lets see how he does in the tournament before this jimmer jazz fever starts.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

:O•-:


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## holman927 (Sep 28, 2007)

Thats a good look for D Will. I for one am very happy.


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

Why are people writing the jazz off now? In return of an overpaid overhyped self-absorbed guy who hasn't been playing well, the Jazz get a former NBA all-star who is still in his 20s (Harris) and a #3 overall pick with loads of potential to beef up the frontcourt (Favors). So, if Favors and Harris come in with a good attitude and play hard, why wouldn't the Jazz be better NOW? Not to mention the future when they get 2 more probable lottery picks...?

Good trade...

....and, here's to hoping they stay as far away from Jimmer as possible. I am worried he will be about as good of a pro as Bradley!


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## mm73 (Feb 5, 2010)

This is a shrewd move by the Jazz. The brass knew D-Will was gonna walk after next season and now was the time to get something for him before the CBA expires. Two serviceable players, two first round picks and $3 mill is a pretty good deal.

I would not be surprised to see the Jazz go after Jimmer now. They know what a HUGE draw he would be. They have been losing money to BYU all season because people (including myself) have been buying tickets to watch Jimmer play at the Marriott rather than watch the struggling Jazz play at ESA. And can you imagine how many Jimmer jerseys they would sell?!


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

David Locke apparently caught Deron this morning outside of the practice facility and asked him about the deal.

Locke: Deron, are the rumors true?

Williams: Yes, they are.

Locke: Is this what you wanted?

Williams: NO.

Deron cooked his own goose here, and the Jazz were smart to get the deal done before he walked on them. "Shrewd" is right, mm73!


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

Don't think many are writing the Jazz off and if we use a first round draft choice on Jimmer- then it wasn't a very shrewed move.


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## svmoose (Feb 28, 2008)

Personally, I'm a little sad to see D-Will go. He will be hard to replace.


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

> So, if Favors and Harris come in with a good attitude and play hard, why wouldn't the Jazz be better NOW? Not to mention the future when they get 2 more probable lottery picks...?


The Jazz have had virtually no three point shooting beyond the point guard position for the past few weeks. Devin Harris is one of the worst shooting point guards in the league from beyond the arc. He's a career 30% shooter. Horrible!!! That's why the Jazz won't be better now.

The Jazz also lose 4 assists per game from the point position.

Who knows? Maybe Memo will come back healthy someday and maybe CJ can learn consistency and maybe Raja will take a Viagra before each game. Then the problems would be solved.

Just an FYI- the only teams in the bottom third of the league for three point shooting and that are also in playoff position right now are the Jazz and the Thunder. The Jazz just became the worst three point shooting team in the league.


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

Sorry, but I am not buying the idea that the Jazz are losing games because of their 3-point shooting percentage. Besides, what is DWill's 3-point percentage? 35%...

...oh, and by the way, some of the leagues worst teams are also among the best 3-point shooting teams (Golden State at #2, 39.4%, Detroit at #4, 37.9%, and Minnesota at #8, 37.3%). Also, FWIW, the Jazz are sitting at the #14 spot for overall offense and at the #17 spot for defense. One thing Harris can be is an improvement on the defensive end where Williams was a liability.

The bottom line to me is that Williams is an overhyped turnover prone PG who has a bad attitude.


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## OKEE (Jan 3, 2008)

D-will has not been a happy camper this year. I think he was missing Boozer  :mrgreen: :roll: 
Noway this trade improved them this year . Maybe next year or the next or..........


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

> Sorry, but I am not buying the idea that the Jazz are losing games because of their 3-point shooting percentage. Besides, what is DWill's 3-point percentage? 35%...


Buy whatever you want, wrong though it may be. Deron shoots 36% for his career. The difference between a career 40% shooter and a 30% shooter is the difference between Reggie Miller and Linas Kleiza. Who do you want with the ball at the end of the game?



> Also, FWIW, the Jazz are sitting at the #14 spot for overall offense and at the #17 spot for defense.


Thanks for helping make my point. Adjusted FG% is huge in the NBA. It's the reason New Jersey is currently the 29th best offensive team. New Jersey also happens to be the 29th best defensive team in the league. There are only 30 teams, by the way.

I'm just praying that the Jazz get a saviour in the draft this year and that Derrick Favors grows up to be Dwight Howard Jr.


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## huntingbuddy (Sep 10, 2007)

I think I am going to cry.


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

huntingbuddy said:


> I think I am going to cry.


I think I'll have a beer and celebrate-


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

This was an excellent move by the Jazz. They saw the circus that went down in Cleveland when LeBron made his "Decision", they saw what just happened to Denver with Melo. Also with the looming lockout who knows what the new structure with cap will be. They were being proactive here. D-Will was good, but in my opinion he was starting to become a cancer that was spreading throughout the team. I like D-Will, but there is no way he was going to stay here. Of course he didn't like being traded to the Nets, but he built his own bed and now he must lay in it. If the Jazz would of waited D-Will and his agents would have had all the power in negotiations and the Jazz wouldn't have got nearly the deal they got. I still think they have the potential to make the playoffs this year, it may be a long shot, but they can do it.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Jazz are a worse team without D-Will, and without Boozer. No superstars any more. Anyone care to remember what the Jazz looked like AFTER Malone/Stockton left but before they drafted Williams and signed Boozer? Those were the only 3 losing seasons in Sloan's career. The Jazz just became the Warriors - Kings - Timber wolves - Bobcats - Pacers - Clippers and every other team that will be happy to win 30 games a year. They did what they had to do, and I applaud the Jazz brass for doing something. Problem is, they are a worse team today, than they were yesterday, and that is pretty bad. The real question I'll ask - what will be higher - the Jazz' own pick, or the pick they just got from the Nets?


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## mm73 (Feb 5, 2010)

jahan said:


> This was an excellent move by the Jazz. They saw the circus that went down in Cleveland when LeBron made his "Decision", they saw what just happened to Denver with Melo. Also with the looming lockout who knows what the new structure with cap will be. They were being proactive here. D-Will was good, but in my opinion he was starting to become a cancer that was spreading throughout the team. I like D-Will, but there is no way he was going to stay here. Of course he didn't like being traded to the Nets, but he built his own bed and now he must lay in it. If the Jazz would of waited D-Will and his agents would have had all the power in negotiations and the Jazz wouldn't have got nearly the deal they got. I still think they have the potential to make the playoffs this year, it may be a long shot, but they can do it.


Excellent post Jahan. The Jazz got rid of a player who had gotten a head that was too big for his shoulders and who wasn't backing it up on the court, and got two talented players and two lottery picks in return. It was a no-brainer and a really bold move by the Jazz. I give props to GM and KOC for having the stones to do it. The Jazz just lost their HOF coach and were going to be rebuilding for the next couple of years with or without D-Will. At least now they can do it without all the drama and have a chance to roll the dice on two high draft picks.


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## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

mm73 said:


> The Jazz got rid of a player who had gotten a head that was too big for his shoulders and who wasn't backing it up on the court, and got two talented players and two lottery picks in return. It was a no-brainer and a really bold move by the Jazz. I give props to GM and KOC for having the stones to do it. The Jazz just lost their HOF coach and were going to be rebuilding for the next couple of years with or without D-Will. At least now they can do it without all the drama and have a chance to roll the dice on two high draft picks.


Spot on! I agree completely. 8)


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

My favorite was that DWill heard about it by seeing it on ESPN at the hotel gym; that could have been handled better! Yet funny!


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

Huge29 said:


> My favorite was that DWill heard about it by seeing it on ESPN at the hotel gym; that could have been handled better! Yet funny!


I agree completely, that should have been handled better IMO.

Gary, I agree right at this very moment the Jazz aren't any better, but what do you think the Jazz should have done? Also I wanted to point out after Malone and Stockton left the Jazz only had one losing season.


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## The Naturalist (Oct 13, 2007)

I'm excited to see what happens with the trade. Over the last few games D-Will hasn't been living up to his All Star status. Only 25% from downtown, 40% FG, 4 TO per game, and absolutely horrible defense. Maybe it's just a slump, but IMO seems to be deeper than that.
D-Harris probably is not a better shooter, but again, over the last few games has been. He has less TO's, and can do something that D-Will has shown he can't do....be quicker on defense. I also think being surrounded by better players Harris's APG will go up.
Anyway...it should be interesting to watch.


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## huntingbuddy (Sep 10, 2007)

Packfish said:


> huntingbuddy said:
> 
> 
> > I think I am going to cry.
> ...


 -_O- :O--O: If I drank I would have one with ya. After talking about it over the water cooler with a bunch of guys at work I feel much better. I think the Jazz will be alright. So long D-Will.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

jahan said:


> Gary, I agree right at this very moment the Jazz aren't any better, but what do you think the Jazz should have done? Also I wanted to point out after Malone and Stockton left the Jazz only had one losing season.


Thanks for the correction. It was three years of no play-offs, and the one losing season.

I think the move was the right thing to do for the Jazz management. I get that. They will be better off getting the two players and two draft picks now, than the whole lot of nothing they would get if they held on to D-Will until his contract ran out at the end of 2012.

But still - for the now, they are a worse team. Since I've been a Jazz fan when they moved here in '79, I've wondered how teams like the Kings, Warriors, Timber Wolves, etc.... can keep a fan base when they make no effort to have quality teams. And in the post Stockton/Malone era, I experienced that. After dropping cash down for a couple of games in the Carlos Arroyo days, I wrote a letter to Larry Miller to tell him I was disgusted not that they lost, but that the team he had then gave up and quit. But when a team is clearly outmatched talent-wise, the players know that and WILL give up. And that sucks.

This trade won't make or break the franchise. But it will take a few years to see if they are better off by doing it. I'll support the team as long as management never quits on the fans. And this trade shows me that they are not quitting, but are being pro-active in making a better team. But make no mistake - D Will is a legitimate super star in the NBA. His skills will be missed.


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## JERRY (Sep 30, 2007)

The thing about D-Wil is he thinks he's a prima donna, and needs to be treated like one! He had the chance to be great. He was like a switch. Your on your off. Play good one night, take the next off. Not the same intensity every game.

He'll wander the league now hoping he gets the chance he just blew in Utah! He was top dog. Good luck being top dog anywhere else but N.J. or teams that are in the basement.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

I'm not sure D-Will was any more of a prima donna than any other NBA player. We were just really freaking lucky for 18 years to have Stockton running the team (while Malone ran his mouth). Stockton played his guts out, never played with the media, and just did his thing and went home with no fanfare. He was the exception. D-Will is typical. We just got used to the exception. 

D-Will is an exceptional talent. No ifs ands or buts about that. There isn't a top tier player in the NBA that isn't an egomaniac arrogant dude.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

GaryFish said:


> I'm not sure D-Will was any more of a prima donna than any other NBA player. We were just really freaking lucky for 18 years to have Stockton running the team (while Malone ran his mouth). Stockton played his guts out, never played with the media, and just did his thing and went home with no fanfare. He was the exception. D-Will is typical. We just got used to the exception.
> 
> D-Will is an exceptional talent. No ifs ands or buts about that. There isn't a top tier player in the NBA that isn't an egomaniac arrogant dude.


I agree completely here and unfortunately he got the short end of the stick because of the recent moves made by LeBron, Bosh, Stoudemire, and Melo. The Jazz needed to be preemptive in this move or Deron would have done the same thing to them that the other super stars did to the other small market teams. Back when Stockton and Malone played it was a different breed of players, there was a sense of loyalty back then more than there is now. The difference between Malone and D-will is Malone ran his mouth, but he always listened to the coach and he worked hard EVERY night no matter what. Many still say no one in the league ever had a better work ethic than Malone. So trying to compare D-Will's attitude to Malone is apples to oranges. A year ago before all the trades went down I truly thought that D-Will would have signed with the Jazz, but things changed, he was going to be gone.


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## JERRY (Sep 30, 2007)

What can I say? I'm old school! :roll: 

Too bad there aren't more Stocton's in the league! -)O(-


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

I think this was a great trade. They had to do something and they atleast got quite a bit for D-Will. I think D-Will is a great player but everyone could see he wasn't happy and that he wanted out. 
I think the Jazz FO knew he wasn't going to sign next year and instead of letting him take control of the situation, traded him first.
The funny thing is on Tuesday after all the Melo talk. I was talking to a group of guys at the gym and mentioned the same thing about the Jazz getting rid of D-Will. I didn't think it would of been this soon, but knew it was coming.
Now maybe they can talk Sloan into coming back.


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

This is a quote from KSL.


> KSL's Rod Zundel talked with Jerry Sloan Wednesday, who was at his farm in southern Illinois. His only comment was, "Go Jazz."


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## mm73 (Feb 5, 2010)

mikevanwilder said:


> I think the Jazz FO knew he wasn't going to sign next year and instead of letting him take control of the situation, traded him first.


Exactly! They saw what Melo did to the Nuggets and were not going to let D-Will do the same to them next season, and after the Sloan retirement they could see that this season was already going to be a lost cause. Far better to be proactive and be in control of the situation then let the prima donna be in control. I think there was a lot going on between D-Will and Jazz management that we are not hearing about, and it looks like the relationship had already soured. Still, I wish D-Will the best of luck with the Nets, and I hope Jazz fans will remember the great games he gave us and will not boo him when he comes to ESA the way they did to Boozer and Fisher.


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## freedomcell (Nov 8, 2010)

mm73 said:


> mikevanwilder said:
> 
> 
> > and I hope Jazz fans will remember the great games he gave us and will not boo him when he comes to ESA the way they did to Boozer and Fisher.


I don't think Jazz fans give D-Will same treatment as Boozer and/or Fish. Completely different circumstances. Now, had Deron lingered next year the way Carmelo did with Denver this season, and then bolted for greener pastures at his own request (which likely would have happened), boos would be justified in his homecoming...


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

I think he will get boo'd. Thats just the way Jazz fans are. I hope that I'm wrong. I don't think he would deserve it. He really did put alot out there for the Jazz, up until the last 10 or so game atleast.
He played injured alot and I can respect that. I don't blame him for wanting out, seeing how the NBA is going right now where all the stars are trying to group up into one of the larger NBA cities. He peobably could see the Jazz wouldn't be able to land another big name to help him.
The days of the loyal player are over, I think after kobe, Tim Duncan, Paul Pierce and Dirk no player will play his entire career with one team. Sucks though.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

I can see Kevin Durrant being a franchise guy.


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

jahan said:


> I can see Kevin Durrant being a franchise guy.


Yeah he is one, but KD said the samethings D-Will did when he signed his last contract. 
I hope he stays because even if I'm not a fan of OKC I would like to see him play his whole career there. Unless he wanted to come to the Jazz then I wouldn't mind seeing him leave. :mrgreen:


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## mm73 (Feb 5, 2010)

I have been a little hard on the guy in this thread, but as professional athletes go, he really isn't a bad guy. According to this article D-Will says he understands why the Jazz traded him and doesn't hold any ill will for the organization: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/jazz/51314 ... y.html.csp

Like I said earlier, Jazz fans should remember him fondly for all the great games he gave us, and wish him the best in his career.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

You say that mm73, but I have to say-he's not like all other NBA players. He's as big a jerk as the worst of them. Hell of a ball player, but he's a jerk in person. I had the-uh-"pleasure" of parking his car several times in the past few years. Doing nothing more than welcoming him to the restaurant, saying hello and asking him to have his ticket validated never so much as pulled a simple "thank you" from the guy. He'd always just grunt or groan and walk inside as quickly as possible. Off the court, his ego was as inflated as Kobe's. Not a nice guy to deal with. 
The rest of the Jazz have been nothing but gracious, kind, and friendly when I have served them.


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