Each NBA team’s best trade in franchise history

Utah Jazz

Jeff Hornacek, Sean Green and a second-round pick for Jeff Malone and a first-round pick (to PHI) (1994)

After being sent to the Sixers as part of the Charles Barkley trade, Jeff Hornacek spent one-and-a-half seasons as one of the primary offensive engines for a couple of putrid Philadelphia teams. If the brief run showed fans anything, it’s that a team with Hornacek as its best player wasn’t one destined for a bunch of playoff appearances.

Hornacek in a starring role wasn’t the ideal use for him, but as a floor spacer that opened things up for other star players while occasionally taking the reins? That role was a better fit for the former second-round pick.

And that’s exactly how the Utah Jazz used him once they brought him in — along with Sean Green — for Jeff Malone and a first-round pick that later became B.J. Tyler, whose NBA career lasted all of 55 games.

After getting acclimated in 1994, Hornacek became the full-time starter the next season and with him keeping the lanes open for John Stockton and Karl Malone, the Jazz finished no worse than sixth in offensive rating, made the playoffs six times and reached the NBA Finals twice.

Hornacek, Malone, and Stockton were far from the most exciting star trio in NBA history, but their diverse skill sets made them a perfect fit together and it led to a great deal of success. At the end of the day, that’s really all you can ask for.