Jazz and the Blue storm

Will the Jazz take Brandon Knight with the No. 3 pick in the NBA Draft? Jimmer Fredette at No. 12?

Such questions could be a moot point if the Jazz trade their picks. It happens. Sometimes draft maneuvering can be a bit shocking, especially to those involved.

On June 24, 1992, I was driving to the Delta Center (Now ESA) to watch the draft. The Jazz had the No. 23 pick. I wasn’t terribly interested. When a team is picking that low, odds of getting an impact player are slim.

Just as I got to the arena I discovered the Jazz had traded away their pick. They had acquired Jay Humphries and current Ute basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak from Milwaukee in exchange for Blue Edwards, Eric Murdock and their first round pick.

BLUE EDWARDS

It was the pre-cellphone era (at least for me), so communication didn’t happen so easily. Edwards had been out all day and had come into the Jazz offices to pick up some things. An assistant trainer saw him right after the trade had happened and told Edwards he was sorry to see him leave.

Edwards’ reply: Huh?

The Jazz had been trying to reach Edwards but were unable to contact him until came into the offices. He immediately stormed out. Yet Edwards returned to the Jazz three years later when they acquired him in a Feb. 3 trade that sent Humphries to Boston, then left again on June 24, 1995 when Vancouver took him in the expansion draft.

Suffice it to say the Jazz’s draft situation this year remains fluid. They could trade away their picks. They could draft players and then trade their rights. Or, as the saying goes, they could do they best they can with what they’ve got.

LARRY KRYSTKOWIAK