"We were never so happy to get rid of a guy" - The time Utah Jazz were thrilled to get rid of Adrian Dantley

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In Adrian Dantley’s seven-season stint representing the Utah Jazz, he earned six All-Star honors and two scoring titles, averaging 29.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. But in the end, his relationship with the management and the franchise took a turn for the worse.

The organization was so determined to trade ‘The Teacher’ that even when they received lesser valued players in Kelly Tripucka and Kent Benson, the Jazz felt relieved in simply sending him away.

Dantley and Jazz Coach Frank Layden started having issues

In the later years during his time in Utah, according to the Washington Post, coach Frank Layden accused AD of ‘trying to hold the team hostage’ amid a contract dispute. Furthermore, the tension between the pair further escalated when Dantley sided with a rookie Karl Malone, in the team locker room against Layden.

Consequently, when coach Frank suspended Dantley for a game, the 6’5” guard vented his frustration by holding out a press conference to present his side of the story, which evidently irked Layden even more.

Following his trade to the Detroit Pistons, AD wasted no time in criticizing Layden, claiming that the coach had never made efforts to enhance his performance. Moreover, the former No. 6 pick expressed satisfaction at departing from an organization where his rights were disregarded.

“There was a time when I thought I’d stay, looking at the bottom line, business, and production, but then you look at personalities, and I knew it would probably happen,” Dantley said. “The things I did, the holdout, having the press conference, were just to protect my rights. It’s good to be out of the situation, but like I always said, the coach never affected my production.”

Jazz President made it clear how the franchise felt about AD

Interestingly, during the period when Dantley’s loyalists speculated that Coach Layden was the only one who harbored animosity against the 6-time All-Star, Jazz President Dave Checketts unequivocally stated that the franchise was content to trade Dantley, even if they received lesser returns than expected.

“The biggest benefit to us in the Adrian Dantley trade was addition by subtraction,” Checketts said. “We knew we had to get rid of him, and we were never so happy to get rid of a guy in the history of the franchise.”

Despite Notre Dame’s standout giving his all to lead the Jazz to two consecutive Eastern Conference semifinal rounds, the end of his stint in Utah demonstrated how all of those efforts had been overshadowed.