Why not to panic about the Utah Jazz assigning Taylor Hendricks to the G-League

There’s no reason to panic about the Utah Jazz’s Taylor Hendricks.

Assigning a recent top-10 draft pick to the G League is rarely done. These players are expected to immediately get playing time for the team that drafted them. The G League is for players who aren’t good enough to play in the NBA. Right?

On July 6th, just weeks after drafting Forward Taylor Hendricks, the Utah Jazz acquired John Collins from the Atlanta Hawks in a trade, creating a log jam in that Forward position. Already having the likes of Kelly Olynyk and Lauri Markkanen, Taylor Hendricks was the 3rd Forward in the rotation battling for playing time. The Collins trade moved him even further down the rotation. The Utah Jazz won’t be paying John Collins over $25M a year and Kelly Olynyk $12M just to lose time to a rookie.

On October 25th Hendricks made his NBA debut in garbage time against the Sacramento Kings, playing just 2 minutes with 1 point and 1 rebound. He was cemented in the rotation as the 3rd Power Forward without a guarantee of playing time. Just three days later Hendricks was assigned to the Salt Lake City Stars alongside fellow first-round pick Brice Sensabaugh.

Danny Ainge drafted Hendricks knowing he was still a very raw prospect, the perfect archetype for a newly rebuilding franchise. Now Hendricks gets to “be the guy” for the Utah Jazz’s G League affiliate while on assignment. Getting Hendricks these much-needed reps and all the playing time he could ask for will give him time to develop and be molded into the future franchise Forward the Jazz drafted him to be.

Taylor Hendricks shined for the Stars posting a stat line of 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks on Monday against the G League Ignite. Hendricks looks to build on this performance on  Thursday nights against former NBA role player Jeremey Lamb the Stockton Kings.