Jazz draft Taylor Hendricks at 9

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

I'm curious who all the hendricks haters would have drafted at 9 then? We tried to move up, the other teams said no, so who do you take at 9?

I haven't tried to interview Cam Whitmore or sat through one of his workouts, but I would have taken him or Kobe Bufkin ahead of Hendricks probably. I'm kind of shocked that Bilal made it all the way up to 7.

FWIW, I have Bufkin and Keyonte George as essentially equal prospects. It's just a question of what playstyle the Jazz would prefer, and it looks like the Jazz like Keyonte's 'alpha' gene.

 

[Shad]

I haven't tried to interview Cam Whitmore or sat through one of his workouts, but I would have taking him or Kobe Bufkin ahead of Hendricks probably. I'm kind of shocked that Bilal made it all the way up to 7.

FWIW, I have Bufkin and Keyonte George as essentially equal prospects. It's just a question of what playstyle the Jazz would prefer, and it looks like the Jazz like Keyonte's 'alpha' gene.

Although, I agree with you on Cam. I was REALLY high on Cam (wanted him at 5) but the Jazz did interview him, worked out for him, passed on him twice (so did the Magic) so there has to be something flagged really bad about him

 

[KqWIN]

I mean he is 19 and played 1 year at UCF. What if I told you it barely mattered except it was just a large enough platform to get him drafted as a lottery pick. You could probably learn just as much by watching high school tape. There is not a single player in this draft that has topped out at 19.

I mean the Thompson twins that everyone loves are even a year older than that and not a single person thinks that they are frozen in Amber. Hendricks is playing with the right team to make sure he gets unlocked.

Of course Hendricks can continue to develop and become a different player. No one ever said he could not get better.

The fact is he did very little with the ball in his hands and that’s why it’s fair to question if he can do more in the NBA. If somebody’s shooting was bad would you say it didn’t matter? Of course not, that’s stupid. If his college season barely mattered, does the good stuff barely matter too? Can’t have it both ways. It matters or it doesn’t.

The reason why we think Hendricks can shoot is because he did it. The reason we don’t think he can play outside of the limited role is because he did not. There are always exceptions to the rule, including the one I highlighted in my post you quoted. Just because someone is 19 does not mean we can’t evaluate their game at 19. If a part of player’s game is bad or rudimentary it’s far to question it going forward. It doesn’t mean they cannot improve, but being young does not mean it will automatically improve either.

 

[KqWIN]

Mostly agree with everything here. The thing I will add is - one reason you can imagine him developing some on ball game is the fact that his off-ball skills and defense will likely allow him to play early and with play come opportunities for growth, plus he was drafted high enough that the Jazz will likely be willing to entertain developing some face up moves for him. The other reason for slivers of optimism about his on ball game is the growth he showed this season at UCF. He was ranked out of the top 50 by all of the top recruiting services and was not considered a one and done prospect by anyone and without even having premier coaching at UCF he ended up a top 10 pick. In his film there are flashes of on ball self creation, there is one where he beats everyone's favorite defender Jarace Walker off the dribble and yams it on him. Now they are few and far between but I can see a path to him developing that part of his game... And this will be directly connected to another part of his game where I expect some development - pull up game. Maybe initially nothing fancy - side steps or simple step backs to avoid close outs or punish devense sagging off him.

Being on the court right away is extremely undervalued when thinking about "potential". 1) It gives you the chance the improve 2) It likely means you have less to improve on. For Hendricks, he will get a huge boost against other prospects because he should be able to contribute right away and have that opportunity for accelerated learning. But as far as the second point, I think he's really rudimentary in terms of his on ball game right now. It doesn't mean he can't improve, but he has a long way to go. It's not quite the same thing as someone like Desmond Bane being sleeper potential pick. He had skills to get on the floor and contribute right away, but his role in the NBA right now as a budding star isn't that much different from his role as a college player.

It could be the case that he's a Mikal Bridges or Jerami Grant who develops this stuff later on in their careers. But realistically speaking I think it's fair to call it a weakness in his game. "Slivers of optimism" is a good term for how I feel about his potential to expand his offensive role in the NBA.

 

[KqWIN]

In terms of lineups, is it crazy to just start him at the 2?

Kessler
KO
Lauri
Hendricks
Sexton

I want to see him sink or swim against the best offensive players....whoever it is. You really only saw him guard the perimeter (on ball) in switch situations and it was often against crappy players. But there's certainly more than "slivers of optomism" for this part of his game. I think he's kinda upright, but nothing too bad. He could be really good with enough reps. I would want to have as many of his minutes matched up with opposing stars as possible.

 

[Thee Jazz Fan]

What? You know what Hendricks is right?

 

[Bodhi]

This thread has gotten weird AF

 

[Domino]

In terms of lineups, is it crazy to just start him at the 2?

Kessler
KO
Lauri
Hendricks
Sexton

I want to see him sink or swim against the best offensive players....whoever it is. You really only saw him guard the perimeter (on ball) in switch situations and it was often against crappy players. But there's certainly more than "slivers of optomism" for this part of his game. I think he's kinda upright, but nothing too bad. He could be really good with enough reps. I would want to have as many of his minutes matched up with opposing stars as possible.

I’ll do you one better let’s move KO to PG because of his amazing passing ability’s and bring in the best stretch 5 in the league at power forward so we get a lineup of

KO
Hendricks
Lauri
Jones
Kessler

 

[Thee Jazz Fan]

I’ll do you one better let’s move KO to PG because of his amazing passing ability’s and bring in the best stretch 5 in the league at power forward so we get a lineup of

KO
Hendricks
Lauri
Jones
Kessler

Truely is something wrong with you.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

THT and Hendricks going to be like Payton and Kemp

 

[Revolution 9]

Really smart pick for the Jazz. Hendricks has the same talent level as Kessler imo. Really good starter, and good enough
to be a starter on a title team. Yes, we need more, but both he and Kessler are nice pieces.

What really excites me is having some length and shot blocking on the team now. We really havent had this in a while and actually it could
end up being the best defensive 4/5 punch we've ever had. The potenial is there.

What I like about Hendricks is he is a safe pick. He's going to help us. Some say the ceiling isnt that high but i dont think we know yet.

 

[Jazz4ever]

In terms of lineups, is it crazy to just start him at the 2?

Kessler
KO
Lauri
Hendricks
Sexton

I want to see him sink or swim against the best offensive players....whoever it is. You really only saw him guard the perimeter (on ball) in switch situations and it was often against crappy players. But there's certainly more than "slivers of optomism" for this part of his game. I think he's kinda upright, but nothing too bad. He could be really good with enough reps. I would want to have as many of his minutes matched up with opposing stars as possible.

It's not so much the position in the NBA more than the collective footspeed you have out on the floor at any given time. And this is not enough footspeed with everyone being a 3 point threat today.