This article was first published as the Jazz Insiders newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Friday.
The Utah Jazz’s first move of the offseason was adding Drew Eubanks to the roster in free agency. According to team sources, the Jazz signed the free agent center to a two-year, $10 million deal. Adding a reserve center to the team on a small contract is not that flashy of a deal, but there are some important reasons that it happened.
First, I’ll mention something that probably didn’t have too much weight on the signing, but will definitely make a difference during the regular season — Will Hardy loves Eubanks.
Not only is Hardy familiar with Eubanks from the time they shared in San Antonio, but he has publicly commented on Eubanks’ strength and fundamental approach multiple times since being the head coach of the Jazz.
“Drew has been a pain in my (expletive) for a long time,” Hardy said with a laugh back in 2022. “Drew’s a really good player. He’s a physical beast, has good hands, he’s a very good athlete, he’s quick off the floor, he has a knack for offensive rebounding. I was with him when he was a rookie in his first couple years in the NBA and he’s put in a lot of hard work to get to where he is.”
That appreciation for Eubanks leads me to the reasons that the Jazz would sign him. There were a number of times over the last couple years when it was clear that the Jazz lacked a physical player to put close to the rim. It’s not necessarily that they want a player at that spot to win them games (the Jazz front office would prefer to keep the win total low). Rather, having a player who is physical down low offers physicality on the glass; sets good, hard screens; and allows the rest of the offense and defense to run the way it is supposed to.
If those things are running smoothly, it gives all the other players a better chance at making the right plays, learning the system, developing into sound decision makers and everything else in between.
Likewise, the Jazz haven’t really had someone (Kelly Olynyk being the exception) who can teach Walker Kessler what it means to play with physicality. Ömer Yurtseven was okay in that department, but Eubanks is an upgrade. Since this part of the Jazz rebuild is really about identifying players who can be a part of the future and making sure that the young players are growing in the right way, it would be helpful for Kessler, and now Kyle Filipowski as well, to learn from someone like Eubanks, whose game is so dependent on being tough adding an edge at his position.
Like I said, it is not a flashy signing, but it is certainly one made with the future in mind. The Jazz don’t want their young players to flounder without direction, so adding Eubanks to the roster will be very good for some of the young frontcourt players.
New with the Jazz
From the archives
Extra points
- Johnny Juzang agrees to four-year deal with Jazz (Deseret News)
- Potential rehabilitation trade targets for the Utah Jazz (Deseret News)
- Jazz rookies ready to prove doubters wrong (Deseret News)
- Elam ending might be the best part about Summer League (KSL.com)
Around the league
- The top players to watch on all 30 Summer League teams.
- Jalen Brunson accepts $113 million less in new deal with Knicks.
- NBA reaches $76 billion media rights deal that includes NBC and Amazon Prime.
Up next: Las Vegas Summer League
- July 13 | 8:30 p.m. MDT | Utah Jazz vs. Dallas Mavericks | NBA TV
- July 15 | 8 p.m. MDT | Utah Jazz vs. Sacramento Kings | ESPNU
- July 17 | 3 p.m. MDT | Utah Jazz vs. Toronto Raptors | ESPN2
- July 18 | 8 p.m. MDT | Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Clippers | NBA TV