Ex-BYU star back in Utah

The Jazz on Thursday unloaded one former lottery pick who did not immediately succeed and acquired another who fits the same bill, trading 2004 first-rounder Kris Humphries and throw-in Robert Whaley to Toronto for ex-BYU star Rafael Araujo and cash considerations from the Raptors.

Araujo, drafted No. 8 overall in '04, is largely regarded as a big-time bust in Toronto. The 6-foot-11, 290-pound Brazilian center averaged just 2.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 12.0 minutes during his first two NBA years.

In Utah, he'll get a second chance.

"We're gonna give him an opportunity to (play)," Jazz basketball operations senior vice president Kevin O'Connor said.

Araujo, who turns 26 years old in August, did start 41 games as a rookie. But he did not appear in more than 59 games in either of his two seasons — and was made a scapegoat by fans and media for the lowly Raptors' woes.

"I don't think I (had) a fair chance — but I never worried about that," Araujo said by conference call from California, where he's spending part of the offseason. "I worked hard every day and did what the coach (Sam Mitchell) told me.

"Sometimes things — they just don't work out."

For either party.

According to a Canadian Press report on the deal that appeared on the Web sites of multiple Toronto newspapers, "Araujo never met the expectations placed upon him in Toronto.

"Former (Raptors) general manager Rob Babcock shocked basketball observers by taking the unpolished centre (eighth) and his game has yet to develop to the NBA level. Babcock was heavily criticized for his selection of Araujo at the time, and the player's struggles partly led to the GM's dismissal in January."

No wonder a change in scenery — or, in this case, a return to familiar landscape he calls "this beautiful place" — seems to be just what Araujo wanted.

"There was so much turnover (in Toronto), he was really looking forward to a new start with a more stable situation," said BYU coach Dave Rose, whose has dined with Araujo more than once since he left for the NBA. "Now he'll certainly have that."

In Araujo, longtime Jazz coach Jerry Sloan isn't exactly getting the athletic, shot-blocking center his franchise admittedly has been seeking.