Inside The Jazz

Ranking Jazz's Best Rebuild Prospects: Taylor Hendricks| No. 3

Taylor Hendricks has some lofty expectations in his sophomore season with the Utah Jazz.

Alex White

Apr 14, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Jerome Robinson (18) guards Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
Apr 14, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Jerome Robinson (18) guards Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images / D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
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The Utah Jazz have more than likely wrapped up their major offseason moves. Most notably, the team has added three new rookies to their young core. The Jazz have three years of draft picks since initially embarking upon this daunting rebuild. Though each prospect is at a different point in their development, and each one figures to have different value to the team’s future, let’s rank them. 

This is not a ranking of who has the ultimate highest ceiling or a look solely at who’s the best right now—we’ll consider what they’ve shown already, the areas they figure to improve, and the context of where that fits for the Jazz. Without further ado, let’s dive in. 

7. Brice Sensabaugh

6. Kyle Filipowski

5. Isaiah Collier

4. Walker Kessler

3. Taylor Hendricks 

As the highest-drafted player on this list, Hendricks’ position was the most difficult for me to settle on. He still profiles as a highly valuable role player whose shooting and defense can carve out a role on any team. Unfortunately, Hendricks is still very limited offensively and struggles to impact games consistently. 

His summer league mirrored his first season in the NBA—encouraging highs like his 23-point, 9-rebound performance against Toronto on a blazing 9/10 shooting percentage and worrying lows like his 3-point game on 0-6 shooting just two days prior. I believe Hendricks will continue to improve and become more comfortable with his role as he gains experience. 

 

What is that role? It’s pretty simple- Hendricks was drafted because he can shoot the ball at a high level which, paired with his size, athleticism, and shot-blocking talent, is a skillset that few possess. Some of the most successful names that come to mind when discussing this archetype are Robert Covington, Jonathan Isaac, and Jaren Jackson Jr. This rare skill set is highly coveted around the NBA, and points to why the Jazz invested a top-ten pick on the youngster from UCF. 

Last year, Hendricks had several highlight defensive blocks, but none were more impressive than this one on Kevin Durant. 

 

Offensively, he excels as a spot-up shooter and opportunistic cutter. Taylor shot 37.9% on three-pointers in 40 games for the Jazz. Though he struggled to get his feet under him, he shot a blistering 54% from deep over the season's final seven games. Including his G-League stats, Hendricks shot a respectable 36.7% on three-pointers during his rookie campaign. He should be able to build on that going forward.

While not necessary to become a valuable piece, how Hendricks develops with the ball in his hands will be worth monitoring. He remains extremely limited in this regard and showed some ugly turnovers when putting the ball on the deck. This ultimately may determine which position best suits him going forward the Jazz gave Lauri Markkanen $238 million reasons to be their long-term answer at the power forward. He and Hendricks can coexist, but how Will Hardy optimizes his frontcourt is anyone’s guess. 

 

Overall, I’m excited to see Hendricks's strides this upcoming year. He has a compelling skill set, and seeing how he develops will be key to how the team is built going forward. He should benefit from plenty of opportunities this year with the Jazz- how he uses those opportunities and grows will be one of the most important storylines to track over the next year.

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Alex White

ALEX WHITE

Alex White is in his first year covering the Utah Jazz and NBA. His analytical expertise is in the field of the NBA draft and all things Jazz. 

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