2008–09 Utah Jazz season

The 2008–09 Utah Jazz season was the 35th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the 30th since the team moved from New Orleans to Salt Lake City for the 1979–80 season.

For the third straight year, the Jazz made the playoffs, but as the number 8 seed. The Jazz were quickly knocked out of the playoffs with a defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round. The Lakers would go on to win their 15th NBA Championship.

Key dates

• 2008:
  • June 26: The 2008 NBA draft took place in New York City.
  • July 1: The free agency period started.
• 2009:
  • February 19: The NBA trade deadline was 3:00 pm EST.
  • February 20: Jazz owner Larry H. Miller, who purchased a 50% interest in the Jazz in 1985 and acquired the remaining 50% a year later, dies from complications of type 2 diabetes.
  • February 21: To honor Larry H. Miller's death, the Jazz won a game a day after Larry's death by defeating the New Orleans Hornets 102-88.

Offseason

Besides the draft, the only significant move that the Jazz made in the offseason was to trade third-string point guard Jason Hart to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for veteran journeyman point guard Brevin Knight on July 23.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	23	Kosta Koufos	Center	Greece	Ohio State
2	44	Ante Tomić	Power forward/Center	Croatia	KK Zagreb
2	53	Tadija Dragićević	Power forward	Serbia	Red Star Belgrade

Roster

Utah Jazz 2008–09 roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From 1.5 !G 22 USA ! Almond, Morris 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Rice 5.5 !F/C 5 USA ! Boozer, Carlos 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 258 lb (117 kg) Duke 2.5 !G/F 9 USA ! Brewer, Ronnie 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Arkansas 4.0 !F 31 USA ! Collins, Jarron 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Stanford 6.0 !C 44 UKR ! Fesenko, Kyrylo 7000215899999999999♠7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 288 lb (131 kg) 4.0 !F 15 USA ! Harpring, Matt 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 231 lb (105 kg) Georgia Tech 4.0 !F 47 RUS ! Kirilenko, Andrei 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1.5 !G 2 USA ! Knight, Brevin 7000177800000000000♠5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 173 lb (78 kg) Stanford 4.0 !F 26 USA ! Korver, Kyle 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Creighton 6.0 !C 41 GRE ! Koufos, Kosta 7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Ohio State 1.5 !G 34 USA ! Miles, C. J. 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Skyline HS (TX) 4.0 !F 24 USA ! Millsap, Paul 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Louisiana Tech 5.5 !F/C 13 TUR ! Okur, Mehmet 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 249 lb (113 kg) 1.5 !G 17 USA ! Price, Ronnie 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Utah Valley 1.5 !G 8 USA ! Williams, Deron 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Illinois	Head coach Jerry Sloan Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Standings

Game log

Playoffs

West First Round

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Utah Jazz

Last Playoff Meeting: 2008 Western Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4-2)

Player statistics

Legend

Season

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Subtractions

References