Insider Puts Jazz F Taylor Hendricks' Rookie Outlook in Perspective
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The Utah Jazz have struck gold with Keyonte George. The 2023 lottery pick has strong-armed himself into the starting lineup, and it appears he's there to stay.
However, does George's success set unrealistic expectations for Utah's other two 2023 first-round selections? Taylor Hendricks and Bryce Sensabaugh are currently being developed in the G-League without a clear path to getting rotational minutes this season with the Jazz.
Should Jazz fans be concerned? The topic came up when NBA insider Tim MacMahon of ESPN joined The Drive with Spence Checketts on ESPN 700.
“I would say Danny Ainge has a pretty good track record; put some trust in him,” McMahon told Checketts. “Will Hardy absolutely wants to do what's best for the development of these young players, put some trust there, and a 19-year-old—I believe Hendricks is still 19, but a teenage kid not ready for the NBA, that’s not necessarily a catastrophe.”
Looking at the history of Utah’s first-round draft picks, what George has accomplished is an anomaly, not the norm. Yes, Donovan Mitchell and Walker Kessler were NBA-ready out of the gates, but after that, Jazz rookies don’t have an excellent track record of making a significant impact in year one.
Former lottery picks Deron Williams, Gordon Hayward, Enes Kanter, and Dante Exum may have spent their rookie campaigns with the Jazz but didn’t contribute much until their careers' second or third year.
Hayward only averaged 5.8 ppg as a rookie, while Williams averaged 10.8. Those numbers jumped significantly in year two, with Williams boasting a 16.2 ppg average and Hayward jumping to 11.8.
More recently, Ochai Agbaji spent some time with the Salt Lake City Stars last season. Utah’s patience paid off as Agbaji averaged 13.8 points per game with the Jazz over the last 19 games.
McMahon also backed his opinion with what’s going on in Indiana with No. 8 overall pick Jarace Walker.
“They took a guy that’s a little bit older in Jarace Walker," MacMahon said. "His time is also coming in the G-League. If you’re getting down the road and haven’t made an impact, then okay, but I think a month into a guy's career is a little bit early to be pushing any kind of panic button."
As long as veteran backup forward Kelly Olynyk is rostered, fans can expect Hendricks to continue to get more live reps with the Stars. Olynyk is in the last year of his deal, so provided Hendricks improves on the court, there will be more opportunity to crack the rotation in year two.
As far as Sensabaugh, the path is a bit more clustered. With Utah currently having six capable guards competing for minutes, there’ll need to be a significant trade or a rash of injuries this season to free up playing time for the No. 28 overall pick.
Jazz fans can glimpse Hendricks and Sensabaugh at the Star's next home game versus the G-League Ignite on November 13.
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