Andrew Bogut is perfect for the Utah Jazz and they should sign him immediately. Here are five reasons why.

Before launching in to why Bogut should join the Jazz I’ll concede the perfect fit for him is still Golden State. The role Bogut played for the Warriors a few years back is still something they could use and he could do now. The reason why I’m not writing that article is because there is probably about 50 players who could be perfect within the Warriors. They are a near perfect team and slotting in any capable, pass first, defense minded player would work out well for them.

Ok, back to the Jazz.

Reason 1 — Gobert needs a legitimate back-up

So what is Bogut? He is a huge body who can protect the paint, set effective screens, rebound and have the offense ran through him. But isn’t Rudy Gobert a better version of this?

Yes. He is, however there is roughly 15 minutes a night where Gobert is on the bench. There is also a number of games where Bogut will be out injured. While the Jazz may want to use this time to play small ball or run Favors at the five, Bogut would be a significant upgrade at the center position on all other options.

Favors is not much of a rim protector, so Bogut will give Utah a level of consistency or flexibility depending how you look at it. He’d also arguably be a great mentor for Gobert potentially pushing him towards his first defensive player of the year award and All Star appearance.

Reason 2 — Utah’s offense

Startlingly Utah’s field goal percentage is second in the league for starters but 26th in the league for bench units. Now Bogut doesn’t shoot a lot these days, maybe five times a game, and although he shoots at close to 60% this is not where I feel he’ll help the Jazz.

As a facilitator, an incredibly smart passer, he should make it a littler easier for the other bench players on the court with him. Adding to this, Utah played slower than any other team last year averaging 94.7 possessions per game but despite this ‘slow-go’ style averaged 319.1 passes per game which was good for fourth most in the league. What’s this mean? Utah passes the ball… a lot.

So, what sort of center would you want if you play slow but pass the ball a lot? Yep, Bogut. In his last full season with Golden State, looking at their six most used line-ups, the top three ranked for percentage of assisted scores all featured Bogut.

Reason 3 — Utah’s defense

When Gobert is off the floor Utah drops from the second best defensive rating to the 7th. These numbers are also true for opponent points. While being 7th in the league in any category isn’t terrible, with Bogut in the bench line-up you’d imagine their defensive rating would stay top 5.

We’ll touch more on his defense impact in the next point. Which is…

Reason 4 — Exum and Mitchell

How Snyder will respond to Hayward’s exit is still yet to be seen but it’s a fairly safe bet to think that Exum and Mitchell will be coming off the bench and playing a significant number of their minutes with each other. Both players have the potential to be elite defenders who can take gambles and play the passing lanes.

Now if Dante and Donovan are a part of the second unit then they’ll most likely be playing limited minutes with Gobert. If they don’t have an elite rim protector and smart defender behind them then this may curtail Synders ability to deploy this defensive combination to their utmost. Put Bogut on the floor with the second unit then there is the potential they could even match the performance of the already elite first unit.

Touching back on the above point about Utah’s offense, when Mitchell and Exum are on the floor they will both be encouraged to drive and create their own shot. Bogut’s ability to pass out of the high post, clear space in the lane and set bone crunching screens will also play to the strength of his two young guards.

As an Aussie, I’m also biased and would obviously love to see Bogut join Exum and Ingles, but that alone is irrelevant to my other points in this article. A tough nosed, team oriented teammate who has tasted the ultimate success should be a welcome addition to the relatively young Utah roster.

Finally, Bogut’s noted willingness not to chase a big contract is also a great fit for Utah. They’ve shown a desire to surround their young core with high IQ veterans. Bogut is exactly this and at a cheap price leaves the door open either this season or the next for luring a high priced star. That’s one more tick for Bogut.

Enough said. Utah, sign that man now!