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Five Reasons the Utah Jazz Should Pursue Jared Dudley

By Jared Woodcox

Mar 11, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Trey Lyles (41) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards forward Jared Dudley (1) during the second half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz won 114-93. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Trey Lyles (41) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards forward Jared Dudley (1) during the second half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz won 114-93. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 29, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Jared Dudley (1) shoots the ball as Philadelphia 76ers forward Carl Landry (7) and 76ers guard Nik Stauskas (11) defend in the third quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 116-108. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 29, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Jared Dudley (1) shoots the ball as Philadelphia 76ers forward Carl Landry (7) and 76ers guard Nik Stauskas (11) defend in the third quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 116-108. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Positional Fit

As a small forward, Jared Dudley definitely fits the ticket as a helpful addition to a position that is severely lacking depth on the Jazz roster. Beyond Gordon Hayward, the Jazz did not have much help off their bench at the three-spot.

While Joe Ingles had moments where he would catch fire from deep and Chris Johnson was an above average defender, neither was as reliable on both ends of the court as Dudley would be.

Dudley also expressed not only a willingness, but the expectation that he would come off the bench and be a role player. With the Jazz’s starting lineup very much locked into place (with the exception of the point guard spot), it would be hard to bring a small forward in who was expecting to share minutes with Hayward or take over his starting role.

As a small forward who is accustomed to thriving in a bench role, Dudley would make a nice addition to the Jazz’s second unit without causing any meaningful rotation issues. Given that the Jazz bench finished 25th in the league in points per game (per hoopsstats.com), a boost here is very much needed.

Next: Three-Point Shooting

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