This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

In the run-up to the 2016 NBA Draft, Dennis Lindsey was uncertain as to the course he was going to take. He had the 12th overall pick and a pile of notes, statistics, reports, opinions, research in front of him. The guys on his staff had done their work, now he had to do his: He had to decide. He was swamped with options, some better than others. He could go ahead and use the pick or trade up or trade down or trade out. He could continue to build for the future or … he could do what he did.

He could skip a step. He could acquire a boot, as Bum Phillips once put it, to kick the playoff door in. He could help his team now.

He likely achieved all three: He traded for George Jesse Hill Jr.

The magnitude — and brilliance — of that decision will reveal itself more as this season rolls on. Already, it is clear that the veteran guard is what the Jazz lacked. That has been established after five games, and the establishing is getting underway.

The Jazz needed Hill. The Indiana Pacers had less use for him. Funny, how one team's trash can be another team's treasure.

Lindsey worked a three-pronged deal, trading the No. 12 pick to Atlanta, which traded guard Jeff Teague to the Pacers as the Pacers sent Hill to Utah.

Indiana was ecstatic about that swap. After the three-way was consummated, Indianapolis Star columnist Gregg Doyel called the deal "felonious" for the Pacers. He wrote: "Jeff Teague for George Hill? That's a trade you make every day of the week and twice on Sunday, because at some point Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird ought to walk into church and offer a prayer of forgiveness. Because he just stole from somebody."

Whether the theft came at the expense of the Hawks or the Jazz was unclear, and unimportant, but if it were the Jazz, they never before had been so glad to get ripped off.

Here's why: Hill has given them what they sorely lacked. The Jazz didn't need more developing young talent and the unsteadiness that comes with that. They might have utilized Teague, had he been available to them. But what they received is a great advancement from what they had and what they otherwise would have gotten.

Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, Rodney Hood, Trey Lyles, and especially Dante Exum needed a savvy presence, one who would have — but didn't absolutely require — the ball in his hands. They needed a calming influence, somebody who could direct them through the critical moments of games. Last season, without Hill, the Jazz were 14-28 in games in which they were within five points in the last five minutes. They were good enough to be in those games, but not seasoned enough to close them out.

Hill won't solitarily change that. He's nobody's superstar. But did you watch what he did against the Lakers, the Spurs, the Mavericks? He grabbed those games by the throat and held on tight, not just by way of his own numbers — 23, 22, 25 points — and his defense, but by the effect he had on everyone else.

Quin Snyder said Hill's addition has brought "leadership and toughness," and the ability to do whatever it is the team needs.

"That's the essence of who he is," Snyder said. "He's going to do what's asked of him and what he thinks he needs to do to help us win games."

He added: "The biggest thing is his ability and willingness to communicate. That could be in a huddle during a timeout with Rudy, it could be after practice with Gordon. It could be on the team plane during a card game. It takes so many forms, but that kind of interaction and the respect he's able to gain from his teammates is a big deal."

One of them concurred.

"George plays with a lot of intensity, he's been around the league, he's a good defender, he knows how to get everybody going, and he knows how to take control of a game," Favors said. "That's big for us."

The Jazz had little of that last season. They had nobody with the heft, with the rings around the trunk, the wisdom, and the onions to lead out, to score what needed to be scored, to pass, to defend, to exude what needed exuding.

Now, they do.

And at what cost? The 12th pick in the draft, that's what. A pick that otherwise would have brought them some fuzzy-faced 19-year-old who would be sitting on the bench, drooling, sucking his thumb or, at best, applying Clearasil, trying to keep up with the blur of grown men around him, counting on his talent to kick in … oh, around 2020.

Instead, the Jazz are all about the business of kicking Bum's door in, doing something they haven't done in years. Hill already has participated in 75 playoff games, while most of the Jazz have played in none.

That win at San Antonio, against his former club, a team that taught him how to play, how to share the ball, how to D up, how to embrace victory, was particularly telling. He piloted the Jazz to their first win at AT&T Center since 2010, scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter, a span that, without him, had collapse sketched all over it. Instead, the Jazz stretched their final margin to 15.

Hill seems to be a player who doesn't give a rodent's rear-end who scores, who plays what position, who gets the glory, as long as the Jazz win. That's how he wins, and gets the best contract at the end of the final year of his deal.

"It's a new season, and we're still learning how to gel with each other," Hill said. "It's a new team, and a new environment for everybody, and we're just trying to figure out roles and positions. We're going to go out and make plays."

Even before the season started, Hill said: "All of my focus is on doing my best to help the Jazz get back into the playoffs, that's all that matters to me now. I've never been big on personal stats. I just want to do whatever it takes to win the game."

He's said that a hundred times already, and his play is evidence of his conviction.

Lindsey may have had a better option of the ones swamping him, buried somewhere in that pile in June. But … no, no he did not.

If he was the victim of thievery, of any kind of crime, then moving forward he should leave the windows open, the doors unlocked, the lights off, the newspapers stacked up in the driveway, and let the rest of the league know he's out of town and very much open for business.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on the Zone Sports Network, 97.5 FM and 1280 AM. Twitter: @GordonMonson. —

About George Hill

Points • 21.4*

Assists • 4.6*

Rebounds • 3.0*

Player efficiency rating • 26.46*

Years pro • 8

Age • 30

College • IUPUI

Former teams • San Antonio, Indiana

* - Averages through five games of 2016-17 season.