Layden, Dantley share Jazz legacy

In 1988, the Utah Jazz hoisted a No. 1 banner to the ceiling of the Salt Palace in honor of Frank Layden, the Utah Jazz's first general manager who later became head coach and then team president.

Layden points to the No. 4 that will be raised tonight to honor Adrian Dantley two decades after he played in Utah.

"My number wouldn't be up there retired if it wasn't for Dantley. I didn't have those other guys — I had (John) Stockton and (Karl) Malone when they were babies," said Layden, who coached Utah from December 1981 to December 1988.

It was a sometimes-tumultuous relationship between Layden and Dantley — still the franchise scoring-average leader at 29.6 per game — but that is all behind them.

Dantley, now a Denver Nuggets assistant coach, has sent Christmas presents and exchanged cards with the Laydens.

"When we meet, we are on a friendly basis," Layden said, noting they talk by phone and see each other at camps and the Rocky Mountain Revue.

Because it was well-known they were at odds for a time, many thought Layden was part of the reason Dantley's number retirement has taken so long, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

In fact, the Jazz have never asked for Layden's input regarding any of their number retirements, but he wholeheartedly supports this one.

"He was the first real good player we got here, the cornerstone for what happened later on," said Layden, who as GM made the trade to get Dantley from the Los Angeles Lakers for Spencer Haywood on Sept. 13, 1979.

"When we went to the playoffs the first time (1984), it was on Dantley's back. It's what you accomplish when you're here, in the building process, and what a great role he played in that."

Layden was out of town in early February when the Dantley retirement decision was made, but when he got back and received a call asking him to speak at today's luncheon, he quickly called Dantley to congratulate him. They talked for a long time about his DeMatha High School coach (legendary Morgan Wootten, also in Salt Lake today for the festivities), family and such, with Dantley bragging a bit about his son. Cameron Dantley, a redshirt sophomore, is a former walk-on who earned a scholarship on the Syracuse University football team and is in the mix this spring for the starting quarterback position.

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