What's new

31 days and football to distract us.

mellow

Well-Known Member
30
Rick Roberson (1975)
Paul Griffin (1977-1979)
Dick Miller (1981)
Dell Curry (1987)
Jim Farmer (1989)
Blue Edwards (1990-1995)
Sean Green (1994)
Ruben Nembhard (1997)
Carlos Arroyo (2003-2005)
Andre Owens (2006)

Okay, so I need some help here. Dell Curry played 16 seasons in the NBA and shot over 40% from 3pt, but he only lasted one season with the Jazz.
Darryl Dawkins, his famed dunk shot and his sense of humor are headed for Utah.

The 6-foot-11-inch Nets center yesterday was part of a three-team trade involving seven players that brought John Bagley, a proven playmaker, and Keith Lee, an unproven forward-center, to New Jersey.

In his first move as the Nets' general manager, Harry Weltman sent Dawkins, who missed 107 of the team's 164 games in the last two regular seasons with back injuries that required two operations, and James Bailey, sidelined for 56 games last season with a broken hand, to the Cleveland Cavaliers. 'An Ideal Situation'

The Cavaliers retained the 6-9 Bailey as a backup center and power forward and packaged Dawkins and Mel Turpin, a 6-11 center, in a trade to the Utah Jazz for Kent Benson, a forward-center, and Dell Curry, a shooting guard.

All seven players began their pro careers as heralded top draft choices.

''It's an ideal situation for me with my kind of contract and its many incentive clauses,'' Dawkins said. ''The big thing is they wanted me in Utah and that's good for Darryl Dawkins.''Then, referring to Coach Frank Layden of the Jazz, one of the league's better quipsters, Dawkins said, ''I'm going to play for a coach who has a great sense of humor and someone who may be funnier than I am.''

It was no laughing matter last season for Dawkins, who played in only six games after he reinjured his back when he slipped in the shower of his home on Nov. 13. He signed a new contract last June with incentive clauses that include minutes played and rebounds. 'Dunk You Very Much'

Since leaving Orlando, Fla., to join the N.B.A. as an 18-year-old out of high school, Dawkins has provided imagination off the court as well as on it. His penchant for shattering backboards with flamboyant dunk shots inspired him to give the shots names.

''All my dunk shots are going with me,'' he said yesterday, ''except for two. I'm leaving 'Dunk You Very Much' for the Nets' front office people and fans who are sad to see me go. And I'm leaving the 'I'll Be Back Shot' as a reminder to the fans of what will happen when I play the Nets.''

Layden said that when he called Dawkins yesterday to discuss his trade to Utah ''it was as though I got my self a partner for a comedy act.''
''Seriously, though, we were fragile up front,'' Layden said. ''I have long lived with the fear of what might happen to us if Karl Malone or Mark Eaton were to get hurt. We're satisfied that Darryl is healthy enough to play. Now we have three centers and who knows what might happen.

''There is some risk with this trade,'' he added, ''but all we gave up were two players who didn't play much for us.''

So the Jazz traded away a Curry for two back up big men who never really played? Leaves me wondering what might have been.


In his second stint with the jazz in the 94-95 season, Blue Edwards had 30 assists in 36 games. His second stint was only one year, apparently he wasstill in Jery's doghouse from his first stint.

SALT LAKE CITY - On the eve of their playoff series with the Seattle Sonics, the Utah Jazz aren't presenting a united front.

After today's short practice, Coach Jerry Sloan announced he was replacing three-year veteran forward Blue Edwards in the starting lineup with rookie David Benoit.

Benoit had 16 points in 33 minutes off the bench in Utah's series-clinching 98-89 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. He hit a three-pointer at the end of the third quarter to cut the Clipper lead to 77-73, then dropped another trey with 4:25 left, putting the Jazz up, 91-84. He also grabbed seven rebounds and helped control Danny Manning.

Edwards played only 20 minutes, scored nine points and had six rebounds. When Sloan gave him the news today, Blue saw red.

He was asked what he did wrong.

"I don't know, ask him (Sloan)," Edwards said. "I thought I was ready to play last night, but I thought, as a team, we weren't ready to play."

Edwards scored 39 points in 116 minutes of the first four games of the Clipper series. Benoit had 12 points in 22 minutes. But Sloan was impressed with the defense and rebounding of Benoit in the crucial fifth game.

I remember being upset with Jerry when the 'fight' with Edwards happened. Still odd to me that Jerry would bench a starter after one bad game.

30-Ron Boone: Boone was at the end of his career when the Jazz acquired him from the Lakers in 1979. Boone was a former ABA star who had helped Utahs first professional basketball team, the Utah Stars, to win the ABA championship. Boone still managed to give the Jazz 13 points a game in his first season with the team. Boone is currently the color analyst for the Utah Jazz. From top 50 jazz players according to https://nbahoopsonline.com/teams/UtahJazz/Articles/top50.html
 
dams, I should've stayed in bed this morning.

no way, not with all this great 30-related jazz trivia:

blue edwards (#30) has the rare historical distinction of having been traded both BY a team and later back TO that team... in exchange for the same player. in the summer of '92, edwards was traded for jay humphries, who would turn 30 just a few weeks later. then, in february of '95, the same year in which blue would turn 30, he was traded by the celtics back to the jazz in exchange for jay humphries. in the meantime, humphries went to the playoffs twice with the jazz and shot exactly 30% from 3-point range in those two postseasons.

carlos arroyo (#30) once blew up at tribune reporter phil miller. arroyo had gotten a quick hook after calling his own number on 2-3 straight plays, so after the game, miller asked if he thought the shot selection was part of the reason sloan opted for raul lopez down the stretch. arroyo started yelling at miller, "why would you ask me that? why would you ask me that? i don't know why he did it, go ask him!" i wish i could tell you that arroyo shot 3-for-10 that night (30%), but i can't remember which game it was or find any mention on the interwebs.

before bernard king became a 4-time all-NBA forward wearing #30 for the warriors, knicks, bullets and nets, the jazz had him on their roster as #22. he had been a 22-ppg scorer up to that point in his career (go ahead and save this for day 22), so the jazz had acquired him in exchange for rich kelley. he underperformed, though, so they wound up trading him for wayne cooper. after a year, they traded cooper for bill robinzine, who after one season with the jazz committed suicide in his car, just shy of his 30th birthday.

rich kelley, meanwhile, found his way back to the jazz after utah traded danny schayes to get kelley back in the fold. during his second stint with the jazz, kelley started 30 games for the jazz in 1983-84, when he turned 30 years old.
 
Kudos for mentioning Ron Boone and the ABA CHAMPION UTAH STARS (no Z's on the end, only Big Z, Zelmo Beaty, on the team).

I was bitter for quite some time when the city renamed "Stars Avenue" and erased the honor bestowed on the champs. That was a magical season from my very early childhood. My father was a beat writer for a publication called the Utah Sporting News (long since defunct), so we went to quite a few ABA games. ABA was by far the most entertaining of the two leagues. The red, white and blue balls, 3-Pt FG's, weird FT rules (3 to make 2, 2 to make 1), and amazing players with colorful nicknames. Glad I had a chance to see and remember the league at it's height (and then, unfortunately, it's demise).
 
Back
Top