ALARMING? Taylor Hendricks and Cody Williams Top 10 picks not contributing. ROUTE to Success
Utah Jazz face mounting pressure as two top-10 picks, Taylor Hendricks and Cody Williams, struggle to make an impact while Keyonte George’s explosive rise keeps fans hopeful. Is it time to recalibrate expectations for Hendricks and Williams, or will player development unlock their potential before it’s too late?
David Locke explores the challenges of drafting in uncertain years, comparing Hendricks and Williams to previous draft classes and revealing why minutes played can make or break an NBA career. Insights include Lauri Markkanen’s influence on development strategy, G League opportunities for Hendricks, and the crucial role of elite defensive impact. Plus, Walt Clayton’s recent surge sparks discussion about balancing scoring instincts and playmaking. Can the Jazz’s youth movement deliver on its promise, or are they victims of unlucky draft timing?
0:00 — Jazz Top 10 Picks Concerns
4:20 — Draft Trends and Player Development
15:00: Efficient and Impact route for Taylor and Cody
17:11 — Taylor Hendricks & Cody Williams: NBA Path Forward
28:00: Will Hardy Wednesday on Taylor Hendricks and Walter Clayton
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30 Comments
Hendricks should play center on this roster. 3 and D. Don't complicate it.
Here's an idea play the guys we draft. Maybe they improve when they aren't constantly looking over their shoulders when making a mistake.
Malpractice by the entire organization as i see it. It's easy as pie. Lose enough to get good players. Yet they waisted 2 of the last 3 years. Now working on screwing up the 4th. Finish bottom 3 or you have not done a good job. It's that simple. If we lose the pick to okc MALPRACTICE
I just can’t handle the drinking into the microphone.
To me the biggest worry in Cody is it looks like he doesn’t play hard either. Just looks like he’s floating out there
Sure but Whiffing on back to back top 10 picks ain’t great though, David.
Both are busts. But it doesn't matter. The Jazz suck and are racist organization. I do hope they get AJ dynamite
Cody Williams just doesn't seem to have it. My heart aches for what Taylor has gone through but at least on some plays you can see his potential. He just needs to get healthy and work on his consistency.
Everything you're saying just screams why the Jazz need to tank again this year to improve their chance of getting another prospect that has chance to be a star.
What drives me crazy about everything is when Danny Ainge got the job in Utah, he said the jazz have been pretty mediocre (I Agree). But then u follow up the next few seasons with 37-46, 31-51, 17-65, and as of today 8-15. Im ok with being bad if we get top end picks (like Ace) but the ownership hasn’t consistently done that. If I was to grade Danny and Ryan off of the product that they are selling fans….. it would be mediocre at best.
You're not sure about Stephon Castle cause he's not shooting well the three? Goodness gracious
This is why the fans were upset that we wasted the first 2 years of the rebuild, neither tanking nor trying to win as many games as possible.
So instead of getting a possible starter we ended up with 2 guys who are almost out of the league. I feel bad for Taylor the injury has stalled any development that he might have had, but Cody looks like he doesn't even know what sport he's playing.
I’m not going to smash coach for not playing Taylor because he has the luxury of seeing him in practice and knowing exactly what he is supposed to be doing every play, but I don’t feel like Taylor has gotten enough run for me to have an opinion of his progress one way or the other.
That said at some point soon he needs an opportunity that’s 20 minutes a night for at least 10 games to give him a chance to settle in and show you something. Allstar break is too late. That’s when a he gets a second shot if first is a failure
This season will go down as a complete failure if we lose the pick. Play the young guys, see what you got, and draft accordingly.
So why are we putting so much stock in the draft when basically a gamble and MOST players don’t pan out, aren’t “super stars”, and end up out of the league in 4 years.
But our strategy is to keep tanking for the draft….
We should be playing to win, be appealing to free agents because we are competing, have a great coach and great ownership. And then wherever we are drafting, do better at evaluating talent and hope to identify a star like Giannis at 16, Donovan at 14, Booker at 14, Siakam at 27, Rudy at 27, Brunson at 33, etc.
But you are clearly illustrating that putting our hope in the draft is terrible. Especially when we seem to be missing like Taylor and Cody…..
Needs minutes yet vets play. Keeps Jazz in cusp of losing picks. Rinse repeat Jazz rebuild
Cody I highly doubt makes it. Taylor we've seen flashes, but that injury significantly delayed his development. With him we'll likely know more next season, barring another injury
Look at ALL the top 5 picks in history. The whole thing is a crap shoot! There is a laundry list of all time greats picked after #5. There are a lot actually picked 10 and later! Look no further than the Jazz. However most teams are the same! But the odds are in your favor if you are picking in the top………6?
The real question is why did the Jazz pick so low. Failure to tank properly.
They would make good back up players for the Sioux Fall Sky Force….or the practice team against the Washington Generals. I see a bright future for them in the Australian Basketball League.
Maybe the Jazz just suck at selecting talent…..All great management can lose its fastball. The Jazz celebrate open nepotism with the two Ainge's and perhaps they are not the best at choosing good players?
Think of the third greatest player in history of the NBA behind John Stockton and Wilt Chamberlain, Nikola Jokic he was 43rd in the draft. Recognizing these types of players is an elite skill that the Ainges obviously do not have.
So you’re telling me, we absolutely fumbled the first two years of the rebuild by not taking the draft serious enough. Year 3 we do, and were rewarded with Ace. Now to this year, we’re going back to the old strategy of years 1 & 2? Make it make sense.
The draft rarely works out 💪
The main purpose of the jazz reset was for financial purposes and for a future as the jazz leverage themselves and couldn’t really grow. The new owner and Covid and all the other bad luck like the favors deal just hamstring the jazz.
Smart to try and get ahead of other teams with the new can that came into play.
For now the Jazz will just keep swinging and missing until something pans out 😮
Mate this isnt some kind of radio show, why on earth you have that strange intro and the abysmal border around the video is beyond me. Like yep, were here, we dont need a constant reminder were watching your show. I say all of this with love, I like the show. Its just one of those "well who else is gonna tell you" situations.
What you are describing wrt "a few great lottery picks, then it quickly falls off a cliff into mediocrity" is well known in math as the "power law".
Look it up.
Whine and complain that's all you Jazz "fans" do in the comments now pathetic
I’m sorry, but none of your arguments make any sense, and they just sound like excuses for bad drafting. When every other player is hitting, the draft isn’t “dead” or over. I still do not think Taylor is a bust though. Cody, probably
Nate Duncan says that ownership is the biggest competitive advantage in the NBA. And I’m sorry, Ryan Smith’s ambivalence and wanting to be competitive now has hamstrung the franchise since 2023
Cody will be a player after he leaves the Jazz. Hendricks probably another team as an end of the bench player.
Jazz fans have been extremely faithful to a fault. That will not continue if the basketball team does not have some sense of direction.