Is Jonas Jerebko the missing piece the Jazz have been searching for?

Jonas Jerebko vividly remembers his first conversation with Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder. He was energetic, his vision for the Jazz crisp. He was also blunt. And that was what ultimately drew Jerebko to the Jazz.

It’s not often free agency deals go down during a workout, but that’s exactly what Jerebko was doing during the conversation.

“He and [general manager] Dennis Lindsey, they told me that I may not play much right away,” Jerebko said. “They told me that there were a lot of good players at my position [power forward] and that I was going to have to earn my way for awhile. They were honest with me, and I appreciated that.”

There’s a difference to being told you are going to start a season deep down the depth chart and actually experiencing it. And alas, Jerebko turned out to be just like any other competitive NBA player riding pine at the beginning of the season.

His blood got warm when he rode pine.

On Tuesday night, when the Jazz face the Denver Nuggets at Vivint Smart Home Arena, Jerebko will more than likely be in the starting lineup. It will be his eighth start of the season as Utah marches on without Rudy Gobert. He’ll play his customary 15-20 minutes a game, provide a little shooting and a little defense.

Jerebko is helping, contributing. But at the beginning of the season, he was accumulating DNP’s, which prompted him to go to Snyder for a conversation.

“I was frustrated,” Jerebko said. “I thought that I could be out there helping and I wasn’t, so I went to coach and asked him if there was anything that I could do. And that’s what I like about coach Snyder. He doesn’t keep you in the dark. Whatever decision he’s making, he’s going to tell you why.”

Snyder told Jerebko he understood his frustration. He told Jerebko he wasn’t doing anything wrong and to keep preparing in the same manner. His time will come.

Utah’s season has evolved into a battle of attrition. At the beginning, the Jazz were one of the deepest teams in the league on paper. But then, Dante Exum, Gobert, and Joe Johnson went down.

That caused the Jazz to switch up the rotation. Jerebko has settled in at the power forward spot, along with Thabo Sefolosha. Derrick Favors has moved to center in Gobert’s absence.

Jerebko is averaging 6.2 points in his last 10 games, to go along with 3.8 rebounds. He’s making 3-pointers at an almost 47 percent clip, which has been his best attribute. He’s also proving to be a tough and willing defender.

“Obviously, his shooting stands out,” Snyder said. “Jonas took a little time to get used to the system. He wasn’t making shots in the preseason, but he’s making them now. The way he’s playing now, he’s not thinking, he’s just reacting.”

Snyder has always preached that playing time is as much about fit as it is about talent.

And Jerebko fits with the starters. He’s been the floor-spacer that the offense needs. He moves well without the ball and his presence has provided a previously struggling starting unit with a lift.

The Jazz have scored at least 100 points in seven of their last eight games. Obviously, that’s not all on Jerebko. But with him in the lineup, Snyder can play offensively more to his liking, with quick passes, a big man rolling down the middle and the perimeter surrounded with good shooting.

“The ball doesn’t stick with him,” Utah forward Joe Ingles said. “He does a little bit of everything. He plays super hard. He’s good defensively. We can play him straight up on someone, or we can switch him if need be. He’s another long and athletic guy that we’ve got. Offensively, he can space the floor. He can take it off the dribble, so it’s nice to play with someone like that.”

When Lindsey put the roster together this summer, Jerebko was signed in part as an insurance policy. Knowing his team has been hit by major injuries in each of the last three years, Lindsey wanted guys with experience waiting in the wings who can play.

Jerebko’s one of the more experienced guys on the team. He broke into the NBA as a rotation guy with the Detroit Pistons. He went through difficult times with the Boston Celtics, before becoming a big part of last year’s team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals. He’s always been a tough guy, a bit of an irritant on the floor.

He has fit seamlessly into the Jazz locker room, forging friendships with Ingles and Favors on and off the floor. And he and his family have fit into the community. Jerebko lives five minutes away from the practice facility. He said he’s enjoying his Jazz experience and that he wants to stay in Utah beyond this season.

“I don’t want to be someone who hops from team to team,” Jerebko said. “I really like it here, and I’ve fit in. I want to be here.”