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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz have had a busy 24 hours signing players to fill out their roster.
After signing Thabo Sefolosha and Jonas Jerebko each to two-year contracts, the Jazz agreed to terms with EuroLeague MVP Ekpe Udoh early Thursday morning. The deal was first reported by Yahoo's Shams Charania.
Udoh was the sixth pick in the 2010 NBA draft, selected three picks above Gordon Hayward and then Paul George, by the Golden State Warriors. Udoh played for five NBA seasons, averaging 4.0 points and 3.2 rebounds. He averaged 16.9 minutes per contest.
However, Udoh has had somewhat of a career resurgence since heading to Europe. Udoh signed with Fenerbahce, a Turkish team, and immediately found himself with a starting role on a championship team. Udoh led Fenerbahce to the championship game of the EuroLeague Final Four in 2016, then won it this past season in 2017 over Olympiacos. Udoh was named Euroleague Final Four MVP.
The deal with the Jazz is for two years and valued at $6.5 million, according to Charania.
Udoh is a defense-first center who has added a mid-range jump shot and improved feel to his game since joining Fenerbahce. He averaged 2.3 blocks per game in EuroLeague competition in 2016-17, and added 12.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest in just over 30 minutes of play. He frequently acted as a hub for Fenerbahce's offense out of the post, allowing him to pick up a good number of assists as well.
He'll likely back up Rudy Gobert at the center position, while providing decent rim protection and ball skills at the NBA level in Quin Snyder's offense, which involves big men frequently touching the ball at the perimeter.
