Five Reasons the Utah Jazz Should Pursue Jared Dudley

Recent comments by veteran forward Jared Dudley have led to speculation that he is considering the Utah Jazz as a free agent destination. Here are five reasons why the Jazz should look to make that a reality.

As we move ever closer to the NBA Draft and the start of free agency, life is quickly becoming significantly more interesting for Utah Jazz and NBA fans alike. One of the latest and greatest rumors regarding the Jazz involves unrestricted free agent forward Jared Dudley who most recently played for the Washington Wizards.

In a recent conversation on the Celtics Beat podcast, Dudley mentioned the Utah Jazz as a team on which he would be a fit that would also benefit from his veteran presence. He later reiterated his willingness and perhaps eagerness to join the Jazz with a simple reply to a tweet.

It’s nice to see an NBA veteran speak favorably of joining Utah’s squad. But is Dudley even on the Jazz’s radar? While this remains unknown, here are five reasons why he most certainly should be.

Next: Positional Fit

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

Three-Point Shooting

The Jazz weren’t awful shooting the three last year, finishing at a respectable 35.5 percent on the year, good for 12th in the league. Nevertheless, there certainly is room for improvement and consistency.

Not to mention, the Jazz finished 28th in the league in points per game. So, not only does the bench need an offensive boost, but the team as a whole certainly does as well.

Jared Dudley has the potential to add that boost. For his career, he shoots 39.9 percent from deep and last season he converted on 42 percent of his threes. While his scoring average isn’t overwhelming, just 8.4 points per game for his career, Dudley has consistently gotten the job done from deep, maintaining a solid percentage all while logging 2.6 attempts per game (2.9 last season).

To put this in perspective, if Dudley had played for the Jazz last season and put up the same stats, he would have led the team in three-point percentage while being fifth on the team in attempts. His decently high volume and exceptional percentage would have provided the Jazz with a critical lift.

Next: Veteran Leadership

Veteran Leadership

As Dudley was quick to point out as a top reason he would be a good fit for the Jazz, he would add a solid veteran presence to an otherwise young and inexperienced squad. He clearly proved this in the 2014-15 season with the Milwaukee Bucks.

An otherwise rugged squad was able to finish with a 41-41 record, qualify for the playoffs and put up a solid fight against the third-seeded Chicago Bulls, largely due to the veteran help of Jared Dudley, among others. Without Dudley this past season, the Bucks’ young guns failed to put any sort of consistency together and finished well out of the playoffs with a 33-49 record.

This isn’t to say that Dudley carried the Bucks all by himself, but he along with the likes of Zaza Pachulia and others played a vital role as veterans providing the discipline and toughness that this season’s team clearly lacked. The Bucks had plenty of talent but it was the vets that kept them honed in.

This is something the similarly young Jazz would benefit from greatly on their roster as well. Dudley also plays with toughness and has a reputation of not backing down which would add some much-needed grit and feistiness to a team that, outside of Trevor Booker, has been relatively reserved.

Next: Affordability

Affordability

Without a doubt, I would love to see the Jazz make a splash in free agency. After years of scrimping, saving and building from within, the Jazz are well overdue for a flashy move in the offseason via trade or a significant free agent addition. Adding a player such as Mike Conley would be a welcome sight and a dream come true.

Whether or not a big move like this happens (and of course it most likely won’t), the Jazz can’t just rely on one flashy player, but will undoubtedly need solid role players that don’t break the bank if they hope to make significant improvement. Enter Jared Dudley.

Dudley has made $4.25 million over the each of the past 5 seasons, a very reasonable amount for all of the aforementioned positive impacts that he would bring to the team. While Dudley’s solid play and reputation coupled with the soon-to-explode salary cap may result in his commanding slightly more money, he should still be well within the Jazz’s budget even if they do happen to make a flashy move this summer.

Next: Willingness to Play in Utah

Willingness to Play in Utah

Those of you who have followed me may have noticed that this is a key trait that I bring up quite often when discussing players and their relation to the Jazz. However, I feel that it is an important characteristic that cannot be understated.

The Jazz have had good teams that have been torn apart by bad attitudes and discontent with their current situation (pretty much the Williams-Boozer era up until the departure of Ty Corbin).

While I’ll admit it pains me to think that the Jazz couldn’t get more out of Enes Kanter, it truly was a relief to see Jazz brass not even bat an eye at eliminating a player from the roster that could have caused discontent across the locker room.

With Salt Lake City unfairly carrying the stigma of a less than favorable market, the fact that Dudley expressed an interest and desire to play with the Jazz from the get-go is enormously reassuring and a fact that can’t be overlooked.

The Jazz are truly on the cusp of becoming a playoff contender, but veteran leadership is a trait that the team is noticeably lacking. If the Jazz hope to add and maintain that precious experience to their team, they’ll need to focus on bringing in players that are excited to be a part of the team and willing to stay focused and content in Utah.

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While the Jazz aren’t the only team that Dudley has shown interest in joining, the fact that he has expressed open and clear interest in the possibility of coming to Utah combined with all the positive traits surrounding him as a player should be a strong signal to Jazz brass to make a push for him.

While adding Dudley wouldn’t instantly push the Jazz to an elite status, it would clearly be a solid and important step in the right direction.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com/stats unless otherwise indicated.