Former Cavs Guard Mourns Death of Jerry Sloan, Says It Would’ve ‘Haunted’ Him If He Never Reconciled

Legendary Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan passed away on Friday.

Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Deron Williams, who played under Sloan in Utah, mourned the death of the Jazz icon in an emotional Instagram post.

Williams, 35, played in Utah under the tutelage of Sloan for the first five-and-a-half seasons of his career.

However, the pair had an abysmal relationship that ended in an ugly divorce.

During a controversial game in February of 2011, a heated disagreement over play calls broke out between the Jazz guard and head coach. It wasn’t the first time the two men had had a dispute.

In the aftermath, Sloan, the longest-tenured coach in the NBA at the time, stepped down from his prestigious position.

Weeks following Sloan’s decision, the Jazz shipped Williams to the New Jersey Nets.

On the bright side, the two former Jazz reconciled in 2018, as Williams alluded to in his post.

Sloan, who died at the age of 78, compiled 1,221 regular-season victories during his time as a head coach in the NBA.

Williams last played in the league for the Cavs during the 2016-17 season.