Where Does Clarkson Trade Rank In Jazz History?

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Jordan Clarkson has become the darling of social media after his 40 point outing against the Philadelphia 76ers Monday night. It was the best scoring night of Clarkson’s Jazz career and the second-highest total of his career overall.

The performance drew calls for Clarkson to be awarded the Sixth Man of the Year by his Jazz teammates, while ESPN’s Bobby Marks called the Jazz trade for Clarkson as “one of the best transactions in recent memory.”

Marks was a longtime NBA executive including an assistant general manager with the Brooklyn Nets before joining ESPN.

The Jordan Clarkson trade from Dec. 2019 will go down as one of the best transactions in recent memory.

Clarkson now up to 40 points and is the clear leader in the clubhouse for 6th Man of the Year.

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 16, 2021

With Marks’ praise for the Jazz dealing, let’s revisit the Clarkson trade, and where it ranks compared to other great trades in Jazz history.

Jazz Trade For Clarkson

The Jazz acquired Clarkson on December 23 in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers that sent former lottery pick Dante Exum east, along with a 2022, and 2023 second draft pick.

Exum had been the fifth overall pick by the Jazz in 2014, but injuries and a lack of development hindered his career before the Jazz ultimately moved him for the high-scoring sixth man.

In the 14 months since the trade, Clarkson has averaged 16.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, while shooting 46 percent from the floor and 37 percent from the three-point line in 70 appearances.

Jordan Clarkson is ON FIRE. 🔥

40 PTS, 8 3PM for the @utahjazz guard.. they lead PHI with under 5 to play on NBA LP. pic.twitter.com/yBQtHzDVDt

— NBA (@NBA) February 16, 2021

Exum meanwhile has averaged 5.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting 46 percent from the floor and 31 percent from the three-point line while appearing in just 30 games for the Cavaliers.

In January, the Cavaliers traded Exum to the Houston Rockets as part of the James Harden blockbuster that included Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo and Brooklyn Nets guard Caris Levert.

Not only did the Jazz win the Clarkson for Exum swap, they won it by a significant margin.  Though they had to pay Clarkson four-years and $52 million in November to re-sign with the team, and the outcome of the second-round picks they gave up have yet to be seen, it’s a cost the Jazz are happy to have paid given the return.

But, how does it stack up against other notable trades in Jazz history? Let’s rank the best trades in Jazz history to get a clearer picture.

5. Deron Williams For Three First Round Picks

On draft night 2005, the Jazz shipped three first-round draft picks to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for the third overall pick which they used to select guard Deron Williams.

Williams quickly became one of the premier point guards in the NBA, while draft picks Martell Webster, Linas Kleiza, and Joel Freeland experienced moderate success during their much less notable NBA careers.

Deron Williams recalled the tough love he got from coach Jerry Sloan with former NBA players Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles. #TakeNote https://t.co/azgMsKKwtg

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 8, 2020

Though Williams tenure in Utah came to a rocky end, he earned one All-Star nod, won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, led the Jazz to the Western Conference Finals in 2007, and racked up four total playoff series victories in his first five seasons in Utah.

4. Jeff Hornacek And Sean Green For Jeff Malone

The John Stockton and Karl Malone-led Jazz had grown stagnant in the early 1990s despite having two future Hall of Famers on the roster. The team needed a legit third option to help push the franchise over the top from playoff team to contender.

On February 24, 1994, the Jazz traded guard Jeff Malone to the 76ers along with a future first-round pick for the Hornacek, a one-time All-Star, Sean Green, and a second-round draft pick.

I stumbled across this from the 1995 #NBAPlayoffs while going through the Jazz vs. Rockets playoff archive. Jeff Hornacek was a wizard. #TeamIsEverything #UtahJazz #nba @KSL5TV @kslsports https://t.co/mswkFuB8kZ pic.twitter.com/cqMlqEl5MQ

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) April 13, 2019

Though Green and the later selected Junior Burrough played one combined game for the Jazz, Hornacek’s tenure in Utah elevated the Jazz from a good Western Conference team to a two-time Finals team in 1997 and 1998.

During the final six years of his career in Utah, Hornacek averaged 14.3 points, 4.0 assists, and 2.3 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the floor and nearly 43 percent from three.

Malone meanwhile quickly saw his career deteriorate thanks to injuries. The guard appeared in just 78 more games between Philadelphia and Miami before retiring from the NBA.

BJ Tyler who the 76ers drafted with the first-round pick used in the trade played just one season in the NBA before retiring after suffering nerve damage in his leg after falling asleep with an icepack on his ankle.

3. Spencer Haywood for Adrian Dantley

The Jazz got their first true star in the state of Utah when they traded Spencer Haywood to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for budding forward Adrian Dantley.

Haywood had been a star previously in his career but spent just 34 games with the New Orleans Jazz before being shipped to Los Angeles the same season the Jazz were moving to Utah.

May 8, 1984: With the @utahjazz facing elimination Frank Layden gives his team this speech in the locker room. Adrian Dantley had 46 and Rickey Green had 23 points and 14 assists in a 118-106 win in Game 5. #KSLSportsArchive #NBA pic.twitter.com/q8Fw2mapPo

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) May 8, 2020

Dantley would make six All-Star appearances in seven seasons and was eventually inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2008. Though Dantley’s individual resume is better than any other player the Jazz have traded for, the team’s success was limited during his time in Utah.

Dantley’s Jazz qualified for the postseason only two-times during his seven seasons with the team before being traded to make way for Stockton and Malone.

2. Donovan Mitchell For Trey Lyles and Tyler Lydon

Though Donovan Mitchell’s resume isn’t as impressive as Dantley’s, it’s likely only a matter of time before the fourth-year guard racks up career accolades that outshine the former Jazz All-Star.

Mitchell has averaged 22.8 points, 4.1 assists, and 4.1 rebounds during his brief tenure in Utah, and is likely on his way to his second career All-Star game next month. The Jazz have never missed the postseason during Mitchell’s career, and currently own the best record in the NBA with the guard as their leading scorer.

More importantly, Mithcell’s impact culturally on the roster was desperately needed after Gordon Hayward’s surprising departure in the summer of 2017, and the guard was exactly what the Jazz needed.

The 3rd highest scoring performance in #NBAPlayoffs history ‼️@spidadmitchell goes off for a career-high in any game 57 PTS, 9 REB, 7 AST for the @utahjazz in Game 1!#Drop40 x #WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/uZTOSuadw1

— NBA (@NBA) August 17, 2020

The team is generating buzz as a legit Finals contender in the West, is off to the best start in franchise history, and Mitchell is one of the main reasons why.

The Jazz acquired Mitchell on draft night in exchange for second-year forward Trey Lyles and a first-round draft pick which the Denver Nuggets used on forward Tyler Lydon.

Lyles spent two seasons in Denver where he averaged 9.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists while Lydon spent just 26 games in the NBA before washing out of the league completely.

The Jazz would have paid a king’s ransom if they knew what they were getting in Mitchell, but the fact that they offered so little makes the trade even more impressive.

1. Rudy Gobert For Erick Green And Cash

Likely the only thing separating the Mitchell trade and the Rudy Gobert trade is the fact that the Jazz gave up two first-round picks for Mitchell, while they landed Gobert in exchange for second pick Erick Green and cash.

Green appeared in just 52 NBA games, the final six of which came in Utah, while Gobert is in the midst of a career that will likely generate Hall of Fame buzz by the time it’s over.

Though Gobert has only made one All-Star team, he is a three-time All-NBA center, four-time All-Defensive team member, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and is easily one of the five best players in Jazz history.

RUDY GOBERT IS THE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR ONCE AGAIN!https://t.co/4kU961UAvR pic.twitter.com/gBg8TTmrpT

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 25, 2019

Gobert’s presence down low impacts the game like few others in NBA history, and led the Jazz to four postseason appearances in his first seven seasons in the NBA.

The team’s future success will fully establish Gobert’s legacy as a member of the Jazz, but he already owns the title as the best trade acquisition in team history.

While Marks has declared the Jazz trade for Clarkson as one of the best in recent memory, it hasn’t quite cracked the top five in team history.

However, with Clarkson on pace to win the Sixth Man of the Year Award on one of the best teams in Jazz history, it’s fair to consider that Clarkson’s move to Utah may soon resemble the team’s trade to acquire Hornacek in the early 90s.

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