The Jazz young player review

[HadAnEffectHere]

Ochai Agbaji: Showing almost nothing whatsoever despite being nearly 24, losing hope.

Walker Kessler: Still producing defensively, but his FT% is so bad that I have to wonder about him as a long-term starter. His FTr is really low so I wonder if he's shying away from contact because he's scared of getting fouled.

Brice Sensabaugh: Nowhere near in shape enough to be an NBA player, we'll see if he gets in shape in the next couple years.

Keyonte George: Played a lot of minutes... Has been really bad... He's still young, but not sure how much physical upside he has. Maybe he can be an average starting PG one day?

Taylor Hendricks: No minutes available due to log-jam up-front... Has shot well in the G-League, hasn't shown much offensively otherwise. So bad at dribbling that he isn't really a future SF despite his jumpshot. Block and rebounding numbers are not as good as you would hope in the G-League... Probably can be an average starting PF in the NBA, but the Jazz have played best with Markkanen at PF so not clear he has any path forward for the team.


Not really sure about these young guys. Kessler can be a starting C if he learns how to shoot FTs, but it's getting pretty dicey there. Hendricks can be a starting PF on another team, but probably never here unless we trade Markkaken. IDK.

Outside of George, does anyone see any of these young players being core members of the team moving forward instead of trade bait? Do any of them have any star upside?

[bkohler]

Seems a bit like this is a glass half empty type of thread.

I don't have much to add other than I'm less enamoured with Keyonte than I think others are, I think we're dumb not to be playing Walker more and I think Hendricks has actually looked really good in the minutes he's gotten.

I did hear one of the beat writers on a podcast mention that the Jazz are very surprised by how much they like Hendricks. He was 9th on their board and they took him 9th but were hoping others would fall, but now realize he's got tremendous potential. So that's interesting!

[bkohler]

Quoting myself from a different thread. Hendricks on/off numbers have looked awesome which gives me hope.

- Hendricks looks fantastic in these numbers. His possessions are limited but all of the lineups which feature him and have had over 10 possessions (with the exceptions of one) are incredibly positive. Like +50. The second most used lineup with him has us scoring 145 pts and giving up 78 pts per 100 possessions.

[SoCalJazzFan]

I'm interested in having this conversation this time next year. You might be right, you might be very wrong.

Sensi and Hendricks didn't even play in the summer league. I might have recency bias against KG, but he is a rookie and has now played more games in a season, with a fair number of NBA minutes, than he has his entire life.

[Inigo Montoya]

Ochai Agbaji: His defense is really good. Offensively there isn't much to talk about, but that could work to his advantage if he focuses on one thing to improve. All he has to do is work on his shot. If he can make 3s at a good percentage, he'd be a nice player to have on the roster. It's up to him.

Walker Kessler: I don't care as much about his FT% as I do with the lack of offensive moves in general. Which is a shame because he has shown some decent touch and the ability to make a baby hook but we hardly ever see it. I really hope he doesn't end up like Gobert who has the same amount of offensive moves now as he had when he entered the league, which is zero. If he can develop a baby hook he could be an Allstar.

Brice Sensabaugh: Not sure that his shape is the reason he isn't playing for the Jazz but I'm sure the injury in the summer didn't help. Just like Hendricks, there isn't room for him at the moment with the current roster. Hopefully we'll get to see something from him next season.

Keyonte George: I like his intangibles, he makes the impression of a guy who wants to improve and take notes of the criticisms about him. I'm worried about his efficiency mostly because he wasn't efficient in college too. It's not surprising that rookie PGs are inefficient but at least with other players there was a track record of efficiency before they got to the league. I still don't think we found our PGOTF but we'll see how he comes back next season.

Taylor Hendricks: I like what I saw when he played with the Jazz. I think on offense he and Markkanen could be interchangeable so there doesn't need to be a real PF and SF with both of them on the floor. I think he can be good but not a star. I don't expect him to create offense off the dribble as that's not his game. I definitely want to see more.

[WinterSoldier]

Unfortunately young players almost never develop if they don't get early playing time. Hendricks, Sensabaugh will likely be busts, Unless the Jazz shuffle the deck on the trade deadline. Hardy just doesn't seem to be a coach that has any interest in developing young players.

[bkohler]

Unfortunately young players almost never develop if they don't get early playing time. Hendricks, Sensabaugh will likely be busts, Unless the Jazz shuffle the deck on the trade deadline. Hardy just doesn't seem to be a coach that has any interest in developing young players.

I think we actually have decent evidence as a fan base that this isn’t always true. Gobert played heavy g-league minutes first first year and look what he became.

[Inigo Montoya]

Unfortunately young players almost never develop if they don't get early playing time. Hendricks, Sensabaugh will likely be busts, Unless the Jazz shuffle the deck on the trade deadline. Hardy just doesn't seem to be a coach that has any interest in developing young players.

He played Kessler a bunch and made him a starter in his rookie season, played a 22 year old THT (last season), made George a starter this season and gives him plenty of time, gave Agbaji 20MPG as a rookie. He's done a good job with the young players imho. You can't just play all of them and expect to win, which is something the Jazz are trying to do.

[FJS]

I like Ochai. He is a deffensive minded player, and he has impact. I Guess if he shot so many times as George he would have better numbers.
Your roster have to have this kind of players. Clarkson is better, but your team is more balanced with one Clarkson and one Ochai than with 2 Clarkson.
This team is doing fine with Fontecchio starting and Ochai as reserve. They fight, they defend, but it's true Simone is more offensive talented.

[TNJazz]

I like Ochai and agree that his defense is his current calling card. He came into the league saying that he would focus and improve on his defense (Kind of like DM said when he first arrived), but unlike Mitchell, Ochai has focused and improved there while in a Jazz Uniform. He still has room for improvement, but his athleticism is fun to watch. Also, I love his demeanor. He arrived with all kinds of accolades which could have gone to his head, but rather, he has been low key and focussed. Every off season players are expected to work on improving an aspect of their game. I believe the coaching staff believe in Ochai and he will begin to use his athleticism and improve his offensive game.

Not sure what's going on with Walker, maybe his second year slump is bigger than anyone expected. I agree with Inigo. This offseason, while he needs to focus on FT's, it's more important he develop 1-2 go to moves. Maybe having more focus there will give hm the game time opportunities to get to the line where he can become more comfortable and not be so worried about it. reps reps, reps...

Keynote exudes confidence. While that is important, I see it as becoming a negative factor in getting him to take too many ill-advised shots. Growth and maturity, very much like Sexton has had this season, hopefully will help him improve his overall game. While I don't think anyone (Other than Keynote himself ) sees him as a superstar point guard, most didn't see that in Stockton either when he first entered the league. I remember the boo's that reigned down when the announced that pick. None of that happened with KG, so I am hopeful he will become a quality guard that has to be respected. He is learning a lot from Dunn, who I really love watching run this team, so maybe he will develop into the PGOTF we need.

I have not had the chance to watch the others except for a little of Hendricks when he played while LM was injured. I like what I saw and think he may be interchangeable down the road with LM. Guess I am more of a glass half full with these guys and believe the Jazz will be happy long term with this past draft.

[ForeverRDjazz]

I like Ochai and agree that his defense is his current calling card. He came into the league saying that he would focus and improve on his defense (Kind of like DM said when he first arrived), but unlike Mitchell, Ochai has focused and improved there while in a Jazz Uniform. He still has room for improvement, but his athleticism is fun to watch. Also, I love his demeanor. He arrived with all kinds of accolades which could have gone to his head, but rather, he has been low key and focussed. Every off season players are expected to work on improving an aspect of their game. I believe the coaching staff believe in Ochai and he will begin to use his athleticism and improve his offensive game.

Not sure what's going on with Walker, maybe his second year slump is bigger than anyone expected. I agree with Inigo. This offseason, while he needs to focus on FT's, it's more important he develop 1-2 go to moves. Maybe having more focus there will give hm the game time opportunities to get to the line where he can become more comfortable and not be so worried about it. reps reps, reps...

Keynote exudes confidence. While that is important, I see it as becoming a negative factor in getting him to take too many ill-advised shots. Growth and maturity, very much like Sexton has had this season, hopefully will help him improve his overall game. While I don't think anyone (Other than Keynote himself ) sees him as a superstar point guard, most didn't see that in Stockton either when he first entered the league. I remember the boo's that reigned down when the announced that pick. None of that happened with KG, so I am hopeful he will become a quality guard that has to be respected. He is learning a lot from Dunn, who I really love watching run this team, so maybe he will develop into the PGOTF we need.

I have not had the chance to watch the others except for a little of Hendricks when he played while LM was injured. I like what I saw and think he may be interchangeable down the road with LM. Guess I am more of a glass half full with these guys and believe the Jazz will be happy long term with this past draft.

FYI those weren't boos for John those were Who's. LOL that's what Frank said after the draft.

[HadAnEffectHere]

For someone who has watched the Stars a lot this year, can you give any detail as to why Hendricks' stats are so bad? His BPG, RPG, and FTr are just terrible.

[PaKii94]

For someone who has watched the Stars a lot this year, can you give any detail as to why Hendricks' stats are so bad? His BPG, RPG, and FTr are just terrible.

Dunno about BPG but RPG and FTr is cause he's scrawny and has no offensive game at the rim

[HadAnEffectHere]

It looks like the Jazz agreed with me that Agbaji is pretty much hopeless.

Was still hoping his physical tools could have gotten a late first, but he was worth basically half a late first.

[SoCalJazzFan]

My neck is still sore from the unexpected whiplash of Fontecchio improving so drastically from last year and Ochai not only not improving, but regressing, from last year.

This thread will be more relevant the next couple of months as Hendricks and Sensi get more playing time.

[HadAnEffectHere]

Sensabaugh will not play this year.

[HadAnEffectHere]

Update:


Ochai Agbaji: So bad offensively that he was traded to the Raptors with Olynyk for a late first. Shooting in senior year was completely fake, can't use any of his great tools because his handle was so bad. OK at defense, but needs to get back to being a 38-40% three point shooter to be a valuable NBA player. Will be out of the league in two years if his shooting is this bad moving forward.

Walker Kessler: Had an incredible rookie year followed by a really bad second year in which he was benched for John Collins (who lead the Jazz to the worst DRtg in NBA history). Extremely lacking in confidence and was so terrified of getting fouled that this badly affected his offense. Seems disliked by coach who views him as a dinosaur and tried to force him to shoot threes this year as coach hates non-shooters. Still has potential to be a top 15 center in the NBA if his coach plays drop coverage and if Kessler can improve his confidence and FT shooting.

Brice Sensabaugh: Benched in the G-League for his defense and really struggled in the NBA. Obviously has a deep bag and a lot of shooting talent, but just can't defend or get separation. Very out of shape and needs to massively improve his athleticism.

Taylor Hendricks: Tons of defensive talent and a good shooter. Lacks the explosion and strength to be a high level paint defender or scorer. Lacks handles to a viable perimeter player currently. Constantly criticized by Jazz insiders for not playing hard.

Keyonte George: A SG trying to transition over to PG, tried very hard but is very unnatural at his position. Average at best tools and handle. Relies massively on his 3P shot which needs to become elite for him to be a high level player in the NBA. Is apparently very smart in film study etc so is loved by Jazz coaches.

[HadAnEffectHere]

One thing I will bring up is that the Jazz probably are a lot less attached to Hendricks than most teams are to their young players because the Jazz's main target in the draft was Coulibaly, who they failed to trade up to get. They seemed to settle for Hendricks and seemed unhappy with how the pick went. They admitted that they ranked every player picked before Hendricks ahead of him.

Considering the Agbaji dumping, I would not be surprised to see Hendricks or Kessler moved next year if they don't show progression. They could also be moved in the offseason to move up for Sarr.

[Hoops Addict]

https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4684806/taylor-hendricks

Hendrix shooting % increased by the end of the year to 38% for 3 pointers......that is awesome....exactly what you want from a stretch 4. You can see him get better,,,,,,,,if he improves a lot he will be very good.

[babyjax13]

Update:


Ochai Agbaji: So bad offensively that he was traded to the Raptors with Olynyk for a late first. Shooting in senior year was completely fake, can't use any of his great tools because his handle was so bad. OK at defense, but needs to get back to being a 38-40% three point shooter to be a valuable NBA player. Will be out of the league in two years if his shooting is this bad moving forward.

Walker Kessler: Had an incredible rookie year followed by a really bad second year in which he was benched for John Collins (who lead the Jazz to the worst DRtg in NBA history). Extremely lacking in confidence and was so terrified of getting fouled that this badly affected his offense. Seems disliked by coach who views him as a dinosaur and tried to force him to shoot threes this year as coach hates non-shooters. Still has potential to be a top 15 center in the NBA if his coach plays drop coverage and if Kessler can improve his confidence and FT shooting.

Brice Sensabaugh: Benched in the G-League for his defense and really struggled in the NBA. Obviously has a deep bag and a lot of shooting talent, but just can't defend or get separation. Very out of shape and needs to massively improve his athleticism.

Taylor Hendricks: Tons of defensive talent and a good shooter. Lacks the explosion and strength to be a high level paint defender or scorer. Lacks handles to a viable perimeter player currently. Constantly criticized by Jazz insiders for not playing hard.

Keyonte George: A SG trying to transition over to PG, tried very hard but is very unnatural at his position. Average at best tools and handle. Relies massively on his 3P shot which needs to become elite for him to be a high level player in the NBA. Is apparently very smart in film study etc so is loved by Jazz coaches.

Out of curiosity, what insiders are saying Hendricks doesn't play hard/what are your sources? I thought his defense was promising, though he was far from my favorite player in the draft (I think I had him 11th on my board?).