"I think we'd look foolish if we didn't (retire Dantley's jersey). It would be too vindictive and would be too mean. I don't think anyone deserves that. I have nothing against Dantley. I admire the guy. He was a great player, one of the greatest players ever to play the game. …if, in fact, he gets an opportunity to get his jersey retired - fine. I would not vote against it. I would not stand in his way. Dantley and I have made our peace."

"That's kind of a political thing more than anything else. The powers that be are the ones who make that decision and I'm not going to get in the middle of that. A.D. was a great player. He carried the Jazz for a long time and he had a great NBA career. Statistically, he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. I had a great time playing with him."

"He should be in the Hall of Fame without a doubt. He was a great player and he taught me a lot of things. He taught me how important it is to train in the summertime. He always prepared himself, which is something I learned from him. I think he should have his (Jazz) jersey retired. I don't make those decisions, but if it were up to me, they'd retire his number."

"You know what's amazing about that? I got into a big showdown with Donald Dell and David Falk, Dantley's agents, and we fought over a hundred thousand dollars! Today, that's chump change! Biggest mistake of my life. I acted like it was my money."

"I can't say it will never happen because you look at history and his numbers were pretty dog-gone good."

"Dantley had a Hall of Fame career, scoring more than 23,000 points in 15 NBA seasons, and his best years were in Utah. That's why he deserves to have his number retired by the Jazz. He is the only Jazz player since the franchise has been in Utah to lead the league in scoring. He scored 13,000 points here, more than anyone in franchise history until Malone and John Stockton passed him. He also averaged six rebounds a game, shot 56 percent and had more than 500 steals in Utah. …Darrell Griffith averaged 16 points a game and never played in an All-Star game but the Jazz retired his number. That's not a knock on Griffith because he deserved it, but Dantley averaged 29 points a game for the Jazz and made the All-Star team all six seasons he was in Utah."

What the Press Says About Retiring Dantley's Number

"Dantley was Karl Malone before Karl Malone. He was a prolific, methodical scorer. He carried the Jazz. He brought credibility to a struggling franchise. Aside from John Stockton and Malone, what player did more for the Utah Jazz than Adrian Dantley?"

"His outward demeanor belied an intelligent, warmer man - not unlike John Stockton.

"Adrian Dantley was one of the first players the Jazz acquired after their move to Utah from New Orleans in 1979, and he turned out to be the first true basketball superstar that Salt Lake City has ever seen. …he can be credited with almost singlehandedly lifting the Jazz out of the NBA cellar and into the NBA playoffs for the first time."

"Layden and Dantley have long since patched up their relationships, say Jazz insiders, and Layden wants to mount another campaign to get Dantley's jersey retired. Much will depend on (Larry) Miller."