Sure, the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns were both non-playoff teams in the Western Conference last season -- but there's more to it than that. And I don't just mean their time zone or their historically similar home jersey colors of purple and white. For one, well, they've both had a lot of the same players play for both franchises. Here's the list of people who have played for Phoenix and New Orleans / Utah (as far as I can tell):
| 1 | Armen Gilliam | 11 | Howard Eisley | 21 | Milt Palacio |
| 2 | Brevin Knight | 12 | Jarron Collins | 22 | Otto Moore |
| 3 | Brooks Thompson | 13 | Jay Humphries | 23 | Raja Bell |
| 4 | Chris Morris | 14 | Jeff Cook | 24 | Randy Livingston |
| 5 | Danny Manning | 15 | Jeff Hornacek | 25 | Rich Kelley |
| 6 | Danny Schayes | 16 | Jerel McNeal | 26 | Ronnie Price |
| 7 | Dee Brown | 17 | Kenny Gattison | 27 | Tim Legler |
| 8 | Diante Garrett | 18 | Louis Amundson | 28 | Tom Chambers |
| 9 | Gail Goodrich | 19 | Mel Counts | 29 | Tom Gugliotta |
| 10 | Gordan Giricek | 20 | Mike Brown | 30 | Trevor Ruffin |
| 31 | Truck Robinson | ||||
| 32 | Tyrone Corbin |
Please note, the list also includes player assets that did not play for both teams, but were involved in trades and at least for a few hours were a Jazzman or Sunshine.