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With the 27th Pick the Utah Jazz picked Udoka Azubuike. Earlier in the day Utah traded back in the draft to make this pick and ended up having multiple guys available that they were likely hoping for at 23 like Desmond Bane and Jaden McDaniels. Although, they ended up passing on them for a center in Azubuike.
Utah is targeting Udoka Azubuike at No. 27, source tells ESPN>
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 19, 2020
Stats
2019-2020 Season Stats: 13.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 0.9 assists, 74.8% shooting, 44.1% free throw shooting.
Measurements
Azubuike has some serious size at 7’ with a 7’7” wingspan. Utah traded Bradley after this pick so if the Jazz are re-signing Rudy Gobert, Azubuike could be a very nice backup center.
For Utah this needs to pan out because they had multiple good options available. Utah’s goal was to improve the defense without sacrificing spacing. This will do that with the second unit as Azubuike will catch multiple lobs with the second unit.
This pick also tells you a lot about how the Jazz view next season. They’re looking to pick players that help now and by moving Bradley and replacing him with Azubuike, the Jazz likely feel that their team make up is solid and they’re going to make another run next season with this same core.