Utah Jazz: How Trevor Booker helped save the franchise

Trevor Booker left a lasting mark on the Utah Jazz franchise, and he’s still leaving an impact on the team. Here’s how he helped save the franchise.

When a player is anointed as a franchise savior, it’s typically in one of the following circumstances:

1. Immediately after a player is selected in the draft, typically in the lottery
2. Immediately after a blockbuster trade that may or may not have involved at least one player that was previously anointed as a franchise savior
3. Immediately after a role player signs with a small market team…. wait, what?

Trevor Booker spent his first four seasons in the league with the Washington Wizards. During that time Booker averaged 6.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game with a 53.5 effective field goal percentage — not terrible numbers, just decent. So back in 2014, why did the Utah Jazz even show interest in a player whose skill-set could be found elsewhere; either via free agency or the draft?

The short answer to that question is that it wasn’t so much about what Booker had to offer, as it was more about what he would come to mean.

Booker was by no means a marquee free agent signing for Utah. He is currently on his third team of the 2017-18 season (the Indiana Pacers), and his sixth in almost as many years as he’s been in the league (seven). At the time of his arrival in Salt Lake City, he brought in something that the Jazz had been lacking — veteran leadership.

When Booker first arrived to Utah, he was interviewed and asked why he chose the Jazz over the three other teams he reportedly had offers from. This was part of his response, via the Salt Lake City Tribune:

"“It’s definitely going to be different,” he said. “In Washington, we had so many older guys that were older than me. To come to a team where I’m one of the older guys is going to be different. But I’m definitely looking forward to it.”"

Booker definitely was up to the challenge, in more ways than one.

His numbers during his time in Utah (6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game over 158 games) do not jump off the page, but his impact went beyond the court as he established friendships with his teammates in the locker room and helped nurture a winning culture.

Back in 2016 when Clemson’s football team lost to Alabama, Joe Ingles took advantage of the opportunity to mess with Clemson alum and teammate Trevor Booker.

This wasn’t the only instance where Ingles and Booker “went at it.” Fox Sports wrote a piece on Ingles sharing his thoughts on the season, and Ingles had this to say about Trevor Booker:

"But Ingles saved the best for last, saying that the power forwards in the NBA are usually like teammate Trevor Booker: “He’s a great passer — not as good as me, but he might be second on the team.” “He’s up there. He’s nowhere near me, either.” “They’re usually like Book,” Ingles said. “and Book’s soft as hell.”"

Fast forward a bit to when Gobert signed his four-year, $102 million extension, Booker was quick to congratulate his former teammate on Twitter:

Sometimes a player’s biggest impact he can have on the team is his ability to develop and cultivate relationships, and he seems to have done so during his time with some of the franchise’s most notable players.