Updated: Jazz officially sign German center Tibor Pleiss


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SALT LAKE CITY — The Jazz have signed 7-foot-2, 269-pound FC Barcelona center Tibor Pleiss to a three-year contract. Yahoo! Sports first reported that Utah was finalizing the deal Sunday.

Yahoo Sources: Utah finalizing three-year deal with Euro center Tibor Pleiss. http://t.co/SVBee2exJW — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 12, 2015

With Trevor Booker and Trey Lyles as the current backup big men, the Jazz probably need a true center to back up Rudy Gobert in case of an injury to Gobert, or to play against bigger opponents. Pleiss' height makes him a fit in that role.

So what will Pleiss bring to the Jazz? Two national NBA writers have profiled Pleiss in the last 12 months. Read their full scouting reports here and here.

In short, he's a big man with a nice pick-and-roll game, something that will fit well in head coach Quin Snyder's system, which prefers to avoid post-up finishing possessions. Pleiss' height and finishing ability could fit in well in a more spacious NBA court.

Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey also gave his scouting report for the big man back in February when the Jazz traded for him.

"He's a large man, and he's getting bigger, more developed. He still has some more strength and power work to do, especially as it relates to our league. He's big; he has very good touch, (and is a) good free-throw shooter. He scored big with his club last year, where he was a starter, then he moved over to Barcelona where he's Ante Tomic's backup. He's mobile for a guy that size."

Lindsey downplayed, though, Pleiss' likely impact on the defensive end: "I'd say he's more of an offensive player," Lindsey said.

However, Snyder's ability to teach defense to Jazz rookie prospects Dante Exum and Rodney Hood — both projected to be poor defenders but have improved to good ones — means the Jazz feel confident they can teach Pleiss to be at least an adequate defender.

Pleiss' approximately $3 million per year contract, should he turn out to be a contributor, is a good value in the current salary environment as well. The Jazz still have cap space to make more moves if they so choose, though the roster is very crowded.

After Pleiss is officially signed, the Jazz will have 17 players on the roster.

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Andy Larsen

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