Ante Tomic in action with his former team, Real Madrid. Photo by Carlos Delgado; CC-BY-SA

Over the years, Utah Jazz fans have clamored for a number of white whales. For a time, it was the fabled “Knicks pick” that ultimately materialized into Gordon Hayward. Now we have the dream of players like Raul Neto and Tibor Pleiss. However, no foreign property has captured the imagination of Jazz fans in recent years like Ante Tomic.

According to a report by Joan Solsona of the Spanish newspaper Marca, the dream of Tomic may soon become a reality for Utah. The seven-foot-two, 265-pound center reportedly wants to begin his NBA career and Jazz brass is willing to help pay at least a portion of the contract buyout needed to free him from FC Barcelona.

Twitter has been abuzz with talk of the 28-year-old Croatian and team insiders are seemingly corroborating the notion that Tomic could be in a Jazz uniform sooner rather than later:

@Lockedonsports thinks there's a real possibility of European big man Ante Tomic playing for the Jazz next season — Patrick Kinahan (@PKKinahan) March 6, 2015

Tomic was the 44th pick of the 2008 NBA Draft and has been playing in Europe ever since his selection. Over the course of a Euroleague career spent with teams like Zagreb, Real Madrid and Barcelona, he has established himself as one of the best big men in the European game.

We recently reported on Tomic’s excellent output in a losing effort in the Spanish Cup, as well as his physical and mental preparedness for the NBA game. Despite assertions at that time by Eurobasket’s David Pick that Tomic probably wasn’t ready to make the transition, it would seem that Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey and Tomic himself would disagree.

If the Jazz do add Tomic to their roster for next year, it could have a big impact on player movement this offseason. It would stand to reason that Pleiss, his teammate at Barcelona and another Jazz property, would have to wait to make the NBA jump himself. We could also see the team look harder at wing prospects in the draft and free agency.

One thing is for certain—a player with Tomic’s size and feel for the game would be an intriguing fit into coach Quin Snyder’s system. Until a move is made, everything is speculation. In the mean time, the team’s latest white whale remains a tantalizing prospect.

Stay tuned to Purple & Blues for more information as the Tomic situation develops.