Pretty solid analysis.
Denver: Chandler, Gallinari and Felton are very good players, but not superstars. Who are their "go-to" guys: Nene? J.R. Smith? An aging KMart? Barring future deals, I see Denver stuck in the 5-8 playoff spot. Good enough to win 50 games, but without enough great players to be a contender. And just making the playoffs is terrible as you'll rarely get a franchise player in the late teens.
Utah: Favors and Kanter have the potential to be superstars. Burks probably becomes a player like Chandler or Gallinari. And Harris = Felton.
The key word, though, is "potential." Denver wanted an immediate return. Greg and KOC were willing to take a chance. Favors was languishing on the bench in NJ. I'll bet some GM's considered him a bust. After all, if you can't even earn minutes in NJ, how bad are you? And certainly an unnknown pick (likely 7-10 based on the Nets' standing at the time) in a weak draft couldn't have much value.
Now would we still feel the same if the trade had netted us the #10 pick, or worse, had Deron been able to lead the Nets into the playoffs and we ended up with the #12 and #15 picks in the draft? Is Harris, Favors, Burks and say, Kawhi Leonard (#15) better than Chandler, Gallinari and Felton? Denver went the safer route. They got three proven players who put them in the playoffs. And that ultra-conservative franchise actually went with a high-risk, high-reward strategy. Hmmm, who woulda thunk the Jazz would do that. I bet had Larry and Jerry still been running the show, the Deron deal would not have been made. Larry would have tried everything he could, hoping til the end that he could convince Deron to stay. And Sloan would have wanted established veterans, no matter how old, so Utah could make the playoffs as the #8 seed. And that would have left the Jazz without the #12 pick.
In hindsight, Deron's attitude and the ensuing events (Sloan leaving, KOC making the big trade) may be the very thing that saves Utah from a gradual slide into mediocrity. Give the young roster a year - we may very well have a 30-win season, and then Utah could follow the same path as OKC.