The Jazz say it was due to Seikaly not wanting to come to Utah, if I recall. It was said he wanted to keep playing in warm climates and wanted the last 2 years of his deal guaranteed which he claimed the Jazz did not offer. He also had a foot injury that might have been part of the problem. Seikaly's camp claimed the Jazz killed the trade due to the injury. No one will ever really know I guess, but this is an interesting article about it.
Off the heels of an impressive 1996-97 season, which saw the team go 64-18 en route to its first-ever NBA Finals appearance, the Utah Jazz came back the following year more determined to not only g…
saltcityhoops.com
imo he would have made the difference to get us a ring. The Bulls did not have the defenders to contain 2 post threats that could play off each other and could both hit a 20-footers with regularity. And his defense was at least on par with the other Jazz centers at the time. I contend if he had come to Utah we would have had at least 1 ring, maybe more.
He was on the downhill side of his career, so his production would drop off in subsequent seasons, but for 2, maybe even 3 years, we would have had a savvy and dangerous lineup of
Stockton
Hornacek
Russell
Malone
Seikaly
Every one a solid contributor with minimal weaknesses.
He would be my pick for the most realistic acquisition that could have pushed us over the top. But he was more concerned about being in the sun rather than in the winner's circle.