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

THE Utah Jazz The Jazz have likely wrapped up their major offseason moves. Most notably, the team added three new signings to its young core. The Jazz have three years of draft picks since embarking on this daunting rebuild. While each prospect is at a different stage of their development and each appears to have different value to the team’s future, let’s rank them.

This isn’t a ranking of the most promising players or a look at who’s currently the best. We’re going to look at what they’ve already shown, where they want to improve, and where that fits into the context of 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-selected player on this list, Hendricks’ position was the hardest for me to pick. He still has the profile of a very valuable role player whose shooting and defense could earn him a spot on any team. Unfortunately, Hendricks is still very limited offensively and has struggled to consistently impact games.

His summer league was a reflection of his first season in the NBA: encouraging moments like his 23-point, 9-rebound performance against Toronto on 9/10 shooting and worrisome moments like his 0-6 3-point game two days prior. I think Hendricks will continue to improve and become more comfortable in his role as he gains experience.

What is that role? It’s pretty simple: Hendricks was drafted because he can shoot at a high level, which, combined with his size, athleticism, and blocking ability, is a skill set that few players 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 in the NBA and explains why the Jazz invested a top-10 pick on the young UCF player.

Hendricks made several big defensive blocks last year, but none were more impressive than this one on Kevin Durant.

Offensively, he excels as a precision shooter and an opportunistic cutter. Taylor shot 37.9 percent from three-point range in 40 games for the Jazz. While he struggled to get going, he shot 54 percent from three-point range in the final seven games of the season. Including his G-League stats, Hendricks shot a respectable 36.7 percent from three-point range in his rookie campaign. He should be able to build on that going forward.

While he doesn’t have to become a valuable player, Hendricks’ play with the ball in his hands will be something to watch. He remains extremely limited in that regard and has shown some nasty mistakes when putting the ball on the deck. That could ultimately determine which position suits him best going forward. The Jazz gave Lauri Markkanen $238 million worth of reasons to be their long-term answer at power forward. He and Hendricks can coexist, but it’s anyone’s guess how Will Hardy will optimize his frontcourt.

Overall, I’m excited to see Hendricks’ progress this year. He has a compelling skill set, and seeing how he develops will be critical to how the team builds moving forward. He should get plenty of opportunities this year with the Jazz — how he uses those opportunities and grows will be one of the most important stories to follow over the next year.

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