The identity of a franchise was molded around John Stockton and Karl Malone. Later, Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer contorted into those positions, carrying on a proud lineage of a dominant pick-and-roll tandem.
When Boozer left for the Chicago Bulls in 2010, though, that tradition was in flux. The Utah Jazz had the point guard, but needed the big man. Enter Al Jefferson.
"I got a different game from the pick and roll, from Karl Malone and John Stockton, D-Will and Boozer," Jefferson said. "I had the post-up, back-to-the-basket game."
With Williams and the Brooklyn Nets in Salt Lake City on Saturday for the second time since being abruptly traded in 2011, Jefferson said he doesn’t "live in the past," but admitted he felt he and Williams could have been a dynamic pairing with the Jazz.
Even one in a famous tradition.
"Right when me and D-Will was getting that pick-and-roll stuff down good, because we worked on it a lot," Jefferson said, "he got traded."
Williams entered Saturday’s game against the Jazz averaging 18.2 points and 7.6 assists per game, and of late has resembled the player Jefferson thought he would be playing with when the Jazz acquired him in the summer of 2010.
"I was just excited to be around a winning program," Jefferson said. "Coach Sloan, legendary coach, a great point guard and a lot of other great teammates. It was cool."
It was also brief. A pairing the Jazz saw as its next duo was broken up after just 57 games and when Williams’ rift with coach Jerry Sloan resulted in Sloan’s sudden resignation.
Jefferson said he was initially surprised Williams was booed in his one Utah appearance last year "just because he had a good career here."
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However, "once I thought about it I could understand why it happened," Jefferson said. "A lot of people were kind of bitter about what went down."
