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Jazz Notes: Hendricks, Collins, Williams, G League

October 29th, 2024 at 7:56am CST by Luke Adams

The gruesome right leg injury that Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks suffered on Monday is expected to sideline him for the rest of the 2024/25 season, sources tell Tim MacMahon of ESPN. While Hendricks will undergo further testing on Tuesday, he was diagnosed on Monday night with a fractured right fibula and dislocated ankle.

“That’s hard to stomach,” head coach Will Hardy said of the injury. “He’s put in a lot of hard work. He’s a great kid, and so we’re really just trying to focus on him, his health, keeping him up, his spirits up as he begins the road of his recovery. But these are the moments in sports that suck.”

Hendricks, who will turn 21 next month, played sparingly as a rookie, especially in the first half of the season, finishing with 23 starts in 40 total outings. The Jazz had planned to increase his role and his responsibilities in his second year. The 6’9″ forward started each of Utah’s first three contests and averaged 26.6 minutes per night in his two full games, well above the 21.4 MPG he logged last season.

“This is far from over for him,” Hardy said, per MacMahon. “This is a pause button for Taylor. You can see [his work paying off] even in the early parts of this season. You can see the flashes, you can see where this could be going with him, and that’s a credit to him.”

I expect the Jazz to apply for a disabled player exception following Hendricks’ injury, but that exception would be worth just $2.92MM (half of his salary) and wouldn’t grant the team an extra roster spot, so its usefulness would be limited.

Here’s more on Hendricks and the Jazz:

Hendricks’ teammates were devastated to see him go down with such a significant injury, as Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. “It’s just put me in an emotional state,” fellow 2023 first-rounder Keyonte George said. “That’s just my brother. I didn’t know him growing up, and then building a relationship with him over the year, he felt like family. I told him I loved him, told him I’m here for him, whatever he needs.” Third-year center Walker Kessler echoed that sentiment: “The biggest thing is just being there for him physically and checking up on him. Right now, he just needs a lot of support from a lot of people.”
Hendricks’ absence will leave an opening in the Jazz’s starting lineup and a significant gap in the rotation, according to Larsen, who considers in a separate story for The Salt Lake Tribune how the team might plug those holes. As Larsen writes, while John Collins is an obvious candidate to take Hendricks’ spot in the starting lineup, units that featured him, Lauri Markkanen, and Kessler weren’t effective last season. With that in mind, Larsen believes rookie forward Cody Williams might be the better option. While he expects Utah’s decision to come down to Collins vs. Williams, Larsen also mentions Brice Sensabaugh, Johnny Juzang, and Kyle Filipowski as longer-shot options for promotions to the starting five.
The Salt Lake City Stars have announced their training camp roster for the 2024/25 season (via Twitter). It includes a handful of players who were with Utah during training camp and the preseason, including Isaiah Wong, Taevion Kinsey, Max Abmas, and Justin Lewis.

Jazz Forward Taylor Hendricks Suffers Fractured Fibula, Dislocated Ankle

October 28th, 2024 at 9:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks suffered a fractured right fibula and dislocated ankle in the second half of Utah’s game at Dallas on Monday night, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.

Hendricks’ injury occurred on a non-contact play as he was running into the offensive lane. He took an awkward step and dropped to the floor with his lower leg bent in an unnatural position. He was removed on a stretcher.

Hendricks was quickly ruled out with a right ankle injury, the Jazz’s PR department tweets. He’ll return to Utah with the team for further testing, MacMahon adds.

Hendricks was making his third start of the season. He averaged six points and six rebounds in the first two games and was 0-for-5 from the field against the Mavs in 21 minutes.

The 20-year-old Hendricks was the ninth pick of last year’s draft. As a rookie, he appeared in 40 NBA games, making 23 starts. He averaged 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game.

With Hendricks sidelined for an extended period, more minutes will open up for other players. John Collins, a starter the majority of his career, could return to the lineup. Brice Sensabaugh, Cody Williams and rookie Kyle Filipowski are among the other candidates for increased playing time.

Western Notes: Wolves, Blazers, Jazz, Spurs, Missi

October 27th, 2024 at 2:57pm CST by Rory Maher

It came against an injury-depleted Raptors team, but the Timberwolves‘ new starting lineup had some encouraging moments in Saturday’s wire-to-wire home victory, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

“It looks like it’s starting to come together,” head coach Chris Finch said. “Things that I can see that maybe we can lean into are starting to form a little bit. We got to keep doing it particularly when it matters most, but it was good for those guys.”

Minnesota got off to a sluggish start in its opening road loss to the Lakers, but the team is starting to figure out how to play around Julius Randle, who contributed 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes vs. Toronto. Center Rudy Gobert grew accustomed to playing alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, but Randle is less of a shooter and more of a driver.

“I try to be in a spot where I’m not in his way,” Gobert said of Randle. “Also he’s able to to find me if my man helps, or if someone collapses, find the shooter. …We gotta get a long way to go, but it’s fun. It’s fun to watch him work, and he’s a very good passer, too, so he’s gonna be able to find his teammates most of the time.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Trail Blazers gave up 140 points and were blown out in their opener, a 36-point home loss to Golden State. Although Portland blew a nine-point lead entering the fourth quarter on Friday and wound up losing a nail-biter to New Orleans, head coach Chauncey Billups was content with the team’s effort, writes Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. “I thought we played good,” Billups said. “Obviously wished we’d come away with the win, but definitely, this is more who we are. We’re gonna compete, we’re gonna scrap. Defensively, I thought we did a pretty good job. It got away from us a few times. But I thought we played hard. I’m proud of our guys.”
The Blazers aren’t the only team to be throttled by Golden State this week. The Jazz only managed 86 points in a 41-point home loss to the Warriors on Friday. While Utah is expected to be among the worst teams in the league, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune questions whether the second unit featuring Cody Williams, Brice Sensabaugh, Jordan Clarkson and John Collins can play competitive minutes together, as they don’t seem to possess complementary skill sets.
Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required) shares three takeaways from the Spurs‘ 109-106 victory over Houston on Saturday, including head coach Gregg Popovich using lottery pick Stephon Castle in crunch time. “I feel like just being out there late game is credit to my defense,” Castle said. “I feel like that’s when it’s needed most. So I was really just trying to lock in on that and then on the other end, just execute whatever Pop calls.”
Big man Yves Missi was viewed by scouts as a raw prospect entering the 2024 draft, but the Pelicans believed in his athleticism and “capacity for learning,” which is why they selected him 21st overall, according to Christian Clark of NOLA.com (subscriber link). Missi has impressed through two games, averaging 10.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 2.5 BPG in 22.5 MPG. Clark details how the 20-year-old traveled from his native Cameroon to the U.S. as teenager to pursue his basketball dream.

Northwest Notes: Porter, Edwards, Wolves, Jazz

October 21st, 2024 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets ranked last in the NBA a year ago with 31.2 three-point attempts per game and lost one of their most reliable outside marksmen this offseason when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope departed for Orlando in free agency. While head coach Michael Malone has downplayed Denver’s need to fire away from beyond the arc, forward Michael Porter Jr. knows the team will be relying on him more than ever this season to help spread the floor, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post.

“I think we’ve got a lot of players that, they like to get to the mid-range, they like to get to the rim,” Porter said. “So we know in this day in age, teams score a lot of points when they get some three up. So I don’t have my partner in crime, KCP. He was kind of a volume shooter last year. So we don’t have any really volume three-point shooters.

“I think Jamal (Murray), he’ll shoot some threes, but he likes to get to the middy. Joker (Nikola Jokic) should probably take a couple more per game. But I know it’s gonna be up to me and Julian (Strawther) to really be the volume 3-point shooters.”

Porter attempted 6.8 three-pointers per game last season and knocked down 39.7% of those tries. His career high is 7.3 attempts per night and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he exceeds that figure in 2024/25.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

In an interview for an ESPN Cover Story feature (Twitter video link), Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards expressed a belief that he could make the jump from the NBA to the NFL. “I told my buddies, if I win a ring in the next three to four years, I’m going to play football,” he said. While Edwards’ confidence is admirable, this claim definitely falls into the category of “we’ll believe it when we see it.”
Within his deep dive into the Timberwolves‘ roster, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic says the trade for Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle helped ease any concerns the team had about its point guard depth behind Mike Conley. “(DiVincenzo)’s been outstanding with the ball in his hands as a play-maker,” head coach Chris Finch said. “We know Julius can also create, we know Nickeil (Alexander-Walker). We’ve seen even a little more increased play-making from Jaden (McDaniels), not in a classic point guard role, but I feel like we are very comfortable with what we will do going forward at the point guard spot.”
Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune poses four questions that will help determine how the Jazz‘s season plays out, including what the front office plans to do with its non-core veterans and how good the team’s young players can be. As Larsen notes, Utah intends to prioritize the development of youngsters like Cody Williams, Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, Walker Kessler, Brice Sensabaugh, Isaiah Collier, and Kyle Filipowski in 2024/25 — their performances will go a long way toward determining whether they have a place in the club’s long-term plans.

Jazz Notes: Markkanen, George, Collier, Williams

October 14th, 2024 at 10:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lauri Markkanen‘s contract situation was a major story during the offseason. Markkanen and the Jazz chose to renegotiate and extend his contract for four seasons. In addition to having his salary for this season bumped from $18MM to $42MM, Markkanen tacked on another $196MM across four new years.

He told Marc Stein in a Subtack interview that he was relieved to get that done, rather than having increased uncertainty over his future, along with the possibility of being traded.

“Obviously I wasn’t a free agent, but it was more I had the ability to do the contract and kind of had the choice,” he said. “I don’t have to do it, but that was something I wanted to get done to stay with the team.”

The Warriors were prominently mentioned as a possible destination and Markkanen took the trade interest from other teams as a positive. “I think [it means] you’ve done things right — that teams want you. … I was able to kind of zone it out and really wait for my agent for what’s real,” he said.

We have more on the Jazz:

Markkanen doesn’t want his All-Star appearance to be a one-shot deal, he told Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda.com. “You don’t want to just be a one-time All Star. The goal is always to improve and show the new things you’ve been working on in your game,” he said. “I’m always trying to take that next step in my development, but it all starts with team success. Everything else comes from there.”
Keyonte George underwent an MRI on his left knee and the results were negative, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. George has resumed on-court activities and is expected to be available for the team’s game against Sacramento on Tuesday. Isaiah Collier also underwent an MRI that revealed a right hamstring strain. He will be reevaluated in 10 days. Collier was the 29th pick of the draft.
Lottery pick Cody Williams had his best outing of the preseason on Saturday, Larsen notes. Williams scored 17 against San Antonio after contributing a total of 13 points in the previous three preseason games. He added five rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes.

Northwest Notes: Gupta, Mays, Singer, Jazz Offseason

September 17th, 2024 at 9:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves executive Sachin Gupta is changing sports. He’s leaving his post as executive vice president of basketball operations to take a prominent position with soccer’s Chelsea FC, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets.

Gupta, 42, has been in the Timberwolves’ front office since May 2019. He also had stints with the Rockets, Sixers and Pistons. Gupta served as the interim head of basketball operations in Minnesota following the 2021 dismissal of Gersson Rosas before the organization hired Tim Connelly in 2022.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

The Timberwolves’ NBA G League franchise, the Iowa Wolves, has acquired the returning player rights to guard Skylar Mays from the Westchester Knicks in exchange for the returning player rights to guard Vit Krejci and a 2025 G League first round pick, according to a Wolves press release. The Timberwolves signed Mays to an Exhibit 10 contract on Tuesday. By trading for Mays’ returning player rights, the Wolves can offer him a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with the Iowa Wolves.
A former Nuggets beat writer is joining their organization. Denver is hiring former Denver Post reporter Mike Singer as their director of intelligence and strategy, according to The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando. In addition to hiring Singer, the Nuggets are promoting Todd Checovich to the position of scouting director. Drew Nicholas, who held that position for two years, accepted a new job with the Nets this summer.
Many of the Jazz players stayed close to their NBA home during the offseason. Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks, Isaiah Collier, Brice Sensabaugh, Cody Williams, Kyle Filipowski, Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton spent the majority of the summer working out in Utah, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News.

Northwest Notes: Williams, Filipowski, Blazers Arena, Henderson, Thunder

August 3rd, 2024 at 9:03am CST by Dana Gauruder

Lottery pick Cody Williams was the Jazz’s most impressive player in the Las Vegas Summer League, according to The Athletic’s Tony Jones. Williams displayed an immense skill level there after struggling in the Salt Lake City Summer League. Jones believes Williams should get immediate playing time in the NBA and go through the natural ups and downs of a rookie, rather than being sent to the G League.

Early second-rounder Kyle Filipowski showed enough skill and athleticism to make people wonder why he slid out of the first round, Jones adds. However, the seven-footer had a tough time when he slid over to the power forward spot.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

The Portland City Council will consider two ordinances to extend a short-term lease between the city and the Trail Blazers’ ‘Rip City Management’ for the Moda Center, according to Aimee Plante of koin.com. The current lease is scheduled to end next year but the proposed agreement would keep the Blazers at their current arena through 2030 with a possible extension into 2035. That would give Portland officials more time to develop a major renovation plan for the Moda Center, the oldest NBA arena to have never undergone a significant upgrade.
If the Trail Blazers don’t make any trades before the regular season, 2023 lottery pick Scoot Henderson will likely come off the bench, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Substack link). He’d back up Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe. Deni Avdija, acquired in a trade with Washington, will likely start at small forward with Toumani Camara backing him up, Highkin writes, adding that the Blazers have an open two-way spot but probably won’t fill it until training camp.
The Thunder‘s over/under win total for next season is 56.5, according to BetMGM, the highest among Western Conference teams. The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto believes they’ll surpass that figure. Oklahoma City won 57 games last season and Mussatto considers Alex Caruso a short-term upgrade over Josh Giddey. He also sees major free agent acquisition Isaiah Hartenstein as a better backup center than Jaylin Williams.

Jazz Rumors: Markkanen, Lineup, Collins, Clarkson

July 30th, 2024 at 9:34am CST by Luke Adams

Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen will become eligible to renegotiate and extend his contract on August 6. Signing on that day would make him ineligible to be traded for six months, with the trade restriction lifting on the day of the 2025 trade deadline (February 6).

Making a Monday appearance on The Drive with Spence Checketts on ESPN 700 in Salt Lake City (audio link), Tony Jones of The Athletic explained why he’s not counting on an Aug. 6 announcement.

“I would expect him to sign on August 7th, or after August 6th,” Jones said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “Lauri doesn’t want to be traded, so if he signs the renegotiation and extension, which I expect him to do, I expect him to do it after August 6th so there’s no trade talk this year. I don’t even think him signing on August 6th is even that much of an option. We’re almost 100% trending towards him signing on August 7th.

“Lauri has really taken to Utah. His family has taken to Utah. Obviously the Jazz can trade him between now and August 6th, and Lauri knows that, but Lauri has forged a really close relationship with (head coach) Will Hardy. And Will Hardy has really found a way to unlock his career in a manner that hasn’t been accomplished before. Lauri really recognizes that, understands that, and appreciates that. He wants to be a part of the rebuild.”

Jones confirms that the Jazz explored making “win-now” transactions at the start of the offseason, including pursuing Mikal Bridges. After those moves didn’t come to fruition, the expectation was that Utah might pivot to a more full-fledged rebuild by trading Markkanen. But Jones says the Jazz believe the 27-year-old’s game will age well and that he should still be in his prime when the team is ready to contend again.

“The likely scenario is Lauri signs on August 7th, the Jazz prioritize the young guys during the season, and they try to enter the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes in the draft in 2025,” Jones said.

Here are a few more highlights from Jones’ ESPN 700 radio appearance:

Later in his conversation with Checketts, Jones stressed that he doesn’t believe a Markkanen trade is likely to happen this offseason. Asked to rate the odds of a deal on a scale from one to 10, Jones said he’d “probably put it at a two” for the time being. “I think we’re trending toward the Jazz not trading Lauri,” he said. “I don’t think that there’s a package out there that they’re overly interested in.”
Asked what it would look like for the Jazz to “prioritize the young guys” in 2024/25, Jones said he expects the team to start Walker Kessler over John Collins at center while also potentially starting Keyonte George at point guard and Taylor Hendricks at power forward (with Markkanen at the three). Jones added that he could see 2024 lottery pick Cody Williams playing double-digit minutes “from day one.”
According to Jones, making sure the Jazz keep their top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick and end up in the top half of the lottery figures to be a priority for management. “I think that the front office is going to go into this with the mindset of, ‘We have to do anything we can to get a top-five pick in this draft,'” Jones said. “I believe that if the Jazz accomplish that, I think any of the top five picks in next year’s draft is a guy with franchise-level talent. … I think the Jazz realize how good this draft is. And I think they are going to act accordingly, whether they have Lauri on the roster or not.”
Jones thinks the Jazz would have liked to move Collins and/or Jordan Clarkson this offseason, but acknowledges that both veterans will probably open the season on the roster since they haven’t generated real interest on the trade market. “You can’t trade people if there aren’t people who want to trade for them,” Jones said. “John makes a little bit too much money. I don’t anticipate the Jazz being able to trade him until the last year of his contract. Jordan Clarkson is the one that surprises me because I thought he’d have a lot more of a market this summer, but it just hasn’t materialized.”

And-Ones: Brooks, Too-Early Preseason Takes, Sneed, Exum

July 29th, 2024 at 9:33pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Dillon Brooks is continuing his impressive FIBA streak, helping lead Canada to an 86-79 win over Greece in his team’s Olympic opener. Brooks, who made a trio of three-pointers in the win, also had an impressive 2023 World Cup, averaging 15.1 points per game en route to a bronze medal.

As Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews writes, Brooks pushes himself to another level in international play.

“I like to play for my country; it gives me a lot of passion to do so,” Brooks said. “For the game itself, you have to be 40 minutes attentive to detail. All those things add a lot more to a player, and I like the ball as well.”

Brooks also impressed on defense alongside Thunder wing Luguentz Dort. According to Urbonas, when that duo shared the floor, Canada outscored Greece by 23 points.

“I’m really proud of Dillon,” national team coach Jordi Fernandez said. “This is how it looks when they let Dillon Brooks play. And it’s just not about the defensive end. With Lu Dort, he’s the best perimeter in the World Cup. But he’s extremely efficient offensively.”

Brooks said he didn’t care if his international play changed how NBA fans felt about him.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic share the honor of having the same odds for Most Valuable Player next season, but Anthony Edwards is a dark horse, Jason Jones of The Athletic writes. Zach Edey is currently the favorite for Rookie of the Year over top-two picks Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr, but Cody Williams is a player Jones believes may be getting overlooked. Jones talks through all the major awards, as well as some teams he does or doesn’t believe in.
Former NBAer Xavier Sneed signed with Bnei Herzliya Basket, a team in Israel, the club relays in a release (Twitter link). Sneed played 13 games across two seasons (2021-23) on two-way or 10-day contracts with the Hornets, Grizzlies and Jazz. He’s scored 22 points in 87 total minutes at the NBA level.
As we relayed Sunday, Australian guard Dante Exum seemed to be nearing a return from a right index finger injury. Boomers coach Brian Goorjan confirmed as much, stating that he expects Exum to return on Tuesday vs. Canada, according to Fox Sports’ Matt Logue (Twitter link).

Western Notes: Jazz, Clarkson, Draymond, Klay, Blazers, Kings

July 25th, 2024 at 8:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Within a look at the Jazz‘s potential depth chart, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune says that Jordan Clarkson hasn’t drawn any real trade interest this offseason, so it appears the veteran guard will still be on Utah’s roster when the regular season tips off this fall.

In Larsen’s view, Clarkson, Collin Sexton, and Keyonte George all possess similar skill sets as score-first guards who aren’t particularly strong on defense or super-efficient as shooters. While each of them may be best suited as a sixth man, Larsen projects George and Sexton as the starters, with Clarkson coming off the bench.

Rather than trying to start John Collins again alongside Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler in the frontcourt, the Jazz should give 2024 lottery pick Cody Williams a shot in the starting five, Larsen contends, noting that the team needs to gamble on upside and adding that Williams looks capable of fitting in as an offensive connector.

In his hypothetical Jazz depth chart, Larsen has Isaiah Collier, Taylor Hendricks, and Drew Eubanks joining Clarkson and Collins on the second unit.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Appearing on the Club 520 Podcast with Jeff Teague (YouTube link), Warriors big man Draymond Green said he’s happy Klay Thompson was able to move on from Golden State this summer — for Thompson’s sake. “I’m happy as hell he’s gone, and the reason I’m happy he’s gone is because he wasn’t happy anymore,” Green said. “As a brother, I only want what’s best for you. Not what’s best for me, not what’s best for this team, not what’s best for the organization. … To see him unhappy – I wouldn’t even necessarily say unhappy, he was uneasy though, just bothered – and to see him that way… that bothered me. … I think it was time for him.”
The Trail Blazers have announced an addition to their coaching staff, issuing a press release to officially confirm the hiring of Ronnie Burrell as an assistant under Chauncey Billups. A former UNC Greensboro standout and a professional player in Europe, Burrell spent last season on Brooklyn’s staff after serving as head coach of the Long Island Nets in 2022/23.
Jim Moran, who coached the Rip City Remix in the G League last season, is joining Mike Brown‘s staff as a Kings assistant, league sources tell Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 Sacramento (Twitter links). Moran previously served as an assistant under Dwane Casey in Detroit and Terry Stotts in Portland, Cunningham notes.