Utah Jazz: Former Jazzman Trevor Booker joins the Indiana Pacers

Former Utah Jazz fan favorite Trevor Booker has agreed to sign with the Indiana Pacers for the remainder of the season.

When the news hit that the Philadelphia 76ers were likely to sign Ersan Ilyasova, who was recently bought out by the Atlanta Hawks, many presumed that Trevor Booker would be the odd man out in Philly and that he would proceed to be bought out himself with the opportunity to sign wherever he preferred.

With that being so, several Jazz fans, including my J-Notes colleague Ryan Aston, were suddenly excited by the prospect of a potential reunion between the former fan favorite and the Utah Jazz. To say Booker was beloved during his time in Salt Lake City would be a vast understatement and his energy, veteran leadership and experience would make him a welcome addition for a Jazz team aiming to make a playoff push.

Well, Booker was indeed waived by the 76ers today, but the Booker-Jazz reunion turned out to be a very short-lived dream as it was announced shortly after that he had agreed to sign with the Indiana Pacers for the remainder of the season.

While I’m personally disappointed that we won’t get to see Booker suit up once again in a Jazz uniform, I am excited about his potential fit in Indy. The Pacers have overachieved in a big way this season with an electrifying young core that has thrived thanks to the incredible play of Victor Oladipo and due to their having some of the best team chemistry of any group in the NBA.

And Trevor Booker should be an ideal fit in that regard as he’s been noted as one of the best teammates in the league. He plays within his role, is a solid veteran and should fit extremely well with Indiana’s on and off-court culture.

Beyond that, he figures to be a great addition to the Pacers bench from a pure basketball perspective as well. Although Booker averaged just 4.7 points during his time in Philly, he shot an impressive 56 percent from the field. And to start the year in Brooklyn, he was at 10.1 points and 6.6 rebounds while still maintaining a solid shooting clip of 51.3 percent.

How Booker will really help, though, is in all the intangibles he brings to the table including an unrelenting hustle that so endeared him to Jazz fans. Not only that, but he’ll give the Pacers versatility with a better ability to go small if necessary, while also allowing another more reliable big to be ahead of Al Jefferson in the rotation.

Furthermore, Indiana is pretty light at the power forward position behind Thaddeus Young as they’ve had to rely largely on the likes of Myles Turner or Domantas Sabonis (who are best suited for the center spot) playing out of position or on forward Bojan Bogdanovic to have to play the stretch-four rather than his preferred small forward spot. Inserting Booker into that backup four-spot should be a nice addition for the Pacers.

Last of all, Indy hasn’t been a strong rebounding team this season and Booker ought to be able to help in that regard. Add the spark and energy he provides to an already high-octane team and there’s definitely a lot to like about his addition.

So even though Booker won’t be suiting up for the Jazz, I know I’ll still be cheering for him to play well in his new landing spot that could end up being an excellent fit. Oddly enough, the Jazz face the Pacers a week from today in Indiana, so it won’t be long until Utah fans get to see him in action on his new squad.

Next: Report: Utah Jazz interested in signing Corey Brewer?

And with the likes of Ilyasova and Booker now on new teams, it will be intriguing to see who, if anyone, emerges in the buyout market that the Utah Jazz may look to pursue.