Blake Hinson looking like a keeper for the Utah Jazz

With the NBA season winding down, teams are giving longer looks to end-of-the-bench players and G-League guys, especially teams involved in tanking efforts. And the Utah Jazz are no exception, with rookie Blake Hinson getting good minutes of late.

Hinson is a 26-year-old forward who has bounced around the G-League (Santa Cruz Warriors, Rip City Remix, Salt Lake City Stars), and is now showing the three-point range he flashed at Pitt and Ole Miss in college.

The Jazz have needed his contributions, especially with third-year pro Brice Sensabaugh mired in a shooting slump, and the lack of depth on the roster at present.

Blake Hinson isn't an All-Star, and he likely won't be one in the future. However, he is taking advantage of this opportunity to shine and secure his future with the Jazz for 2026-27 and beyond.

Why Hinson looks like he should be a long-term Jazzman

March is Hinson's time to shine. A year ago, as a member of the Santa Cruz Warriors, he dropped 44 points (including 10 made three pointers) in a blowout win over the Rip City Remix, the Portland Trail Blazers' G-League affiliate.

While with the Salt Lake City Stars, Hinson averaged 20.7 points, 5.3 boards and 1.6 assists a night.

And since being called up to the Jazz, he's averaging 9.0 points, 2.4 boards, and 19.9 minutes per game, while shooting nearly 49% from the field and 45% from deep, better than expected numbers from an NBA rookie.

With the Jazz doing their best to stay in the tankathon and keep their first-round pick this summer, we'll likely see a lot of Blake Hinson from here on out in the lineup. But Hinson could be more than a late-season G-League callup.

With a salary crunch coming this summer as the Jazz make decisions on Walker Kessler, Keyonte George, Jusuf Nurkic, and other additions, getting players on affordable contracts that can contribute is vital, and that's where Hinson will prove valuable.

Even if he ends up a 10th-12th man on the roster next year, he has a good chance at a guaranteed deal for the 2026-27 season, with the Utah Jazz, if he keeps up his solid play the rest of the year.

While Blake Hinson still has a lot to prove and improve on, he looks like a keeper. It's safe to say the Jazz like what they see from him up to now, and it could mean he sticks around over higher-priced guys this summer.