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Utah Jazz activities in 2009
On February 20, 2009, Jazz owner Larry H. Miller died of complications from diabetes. During his final months as team owner, his family, led by his son Greg Miller, ran the day-to-day business operations of the Jazz. The Jazz finished with a 48–34 record, causing them to slip to #8 in the competitive Western Conference playoff race, after which they were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers for the second year in a row, 4 games to 1. The season would be the last for long-time radio and former TV announcer Hot Rod Hundley, who announced his retirement after being with the Jazz for their entire history (35 years). Despite the disappointment, Deron Williams proved himself to be one of the elite point guards of the league, averaging 19.4 points and 10.8 assists per game, second in the league, despite playing the entire season with a lingering ankle injury and also helping lead the U.S. Olympic basketball team to the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics as part of the Redeem Team.

During the 2009 offseason, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, and Kyle Korver all possessed clauses for the final year of their contract in which they could choose to opt out and seek a bigger deal - however, all 3 of them chose to "opt-in" and serve the final year of their contracts in Utah. In July, Okur signed a 2-year contract extension worth $21 million, keeping him with Utah through the 2011-12 season. However, despite Boozer's decision to not opt-out, Boozer asked for a trade after learning that the Jazz verbally expressed more interest in keeping Paul Millsap and was actively looking to trade him. Millsap, a restricted free agent, signed an offer sheet from the Portland Trail Blazers but Utah exercised their right to match the offer and signed Millsap.