Melaleuca flies NBA player from Ohio to join Utah Jazz
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IDAHO FALLS — Melaleuca, Inc. is helping one of the newest Utah Jazz players get to Salt Lake City following a trade Thursday morning.
Melaleuca management received a call around 7:30 a.m. from Jazz executives asking if the Idaho Falls based company had an airplane available to transport a new player for an imminent trade.
Arrangements were quickly made and two Melaleuca pilots were on standby to pick the new player up.
The Utah Jazz then announced they were trading Rodney Hood to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Joe Johnson to the Sacramento Kings. In exchange, the Jazz received Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose from Cleveland, but Rose is expected to be released from the team.
Melaleuca flew its plane to Cleveland to pick Crowder up and get him to Salt Lake City in time to prepare and play against the Charlotte Hornets Friday night.
This is the second time Melaleuca has helped the Jazz with transporting players. In 2014, Frank and Belinda VanderSloot used their plane to attend the NBA draft not knowing who would be flying to Utah with them to join the team.
Players Dante Exum and Rodney Hood ended up signing with the team and made it to Salt Lake City in time for a welcoming party.