Utah Jazz: Brandon Rush Acquisition Huge For Young Jazz

The Utah Jazz have made it no secret that they have decided to go young this season. By letting all their unrestricted free agents walk, they have basically told guys such as Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward, this is your team now.

Even with the young guns taking over, every team needs a bench. The Jazz decided to help out the Golden State Warriors and take expiring contracts off Golden State’s hands in Brandon Rush, Andris Biedrins and Richard Jefferson. They also got a handful of draft picks. The trade made it possible for the Warriors to sign Andre Iguodala, but the Jazz might have gotten the  better end of the deal.

As mentioned before, all three players are on expiring contracts, but in the case of Biedrins and Rush, this could be a tryout for a long-term contract.

Biedrins did not see much playing time last season with the Warriors. Playing an average of 9.3 minutes per game, he put up an average of 0.5 points per game and grabbed nearly three boards per game. Not stellar numbers, but he seen his minutes drop by more than half. For his career, he has averaged 21.8 minutes per game and put up 6.4 points per game, while grabbing 7.1 rebounds.

He obviously has offensive struggles, but the Jazz did not bring him over for offense. He can rebound the ball and plays good defense. If he can average anywhere close to his career mark of 7.1 rebounds off the bench for the Jazz, it will help a lot.

Brandon Rush could be a key guy for this season’s team and the seasons to come. Rush is a fantastic 3-point shooter and, before his season-ending knee injury last season, was playing great for the Warriors. Before the injury, Rush was shooting nearly 67 percent from the field, but had not attempted a 3 yet.

During his best season in the league, 2011-12, Rush shot better than 50 percent from the field and better than 45 percent from beyond the arc. Not a lot of guys put up those kind of numbers. Guys such as LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Kevin Durant (once) are exceptions. Kobe Bryant has never shot better than 46 percent for a season in his career.

At 6’6″ and 210 pounds, Rush has good size for a shooting guard and has spent the majority of his career playing as a key backup role player. He could be an anchor for the Jazz’s bench and a much-needed one.

The majority of Jazz fans have not responded well to the new-look Jazz team, but fans have not seen much of our bench players. The team that Jazz management has put together could turn out to be more successful than fans think. With the bench looking like it could be John Lucas III, Rush, Jefferson, Marvin Williams and Biedrins, management has mixed young players and veterans quite nicely.

I’m not saying the Jazz will be contenders, but this team will be fun to watch and Brandon Rush will soon become someone the fans will love. Look for Rush to be in Utah for the next four seasons.