HONOLULU, HAWAII - OCTOBER 8: John Collins #20 of the Utah Jazz tips out a rebound during the first half of the preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center on October 8, 2023 in Honolulu, Hawaii. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
Starting Taylor Hendricks over John Collins makes no sense for the Utah Jazz
It makes no for Taylor Hendricks to be over John Collins on the depth chart to start the Utah Jazz’s season.
The Utah Jazz struck it rich when they landed John Collins from the Atlanta Hawks for a past-his-prime Rudy Gay and a second-round draft pick. Collins is seated to be the Jazz’s starting point guard and the team is hoping that Collins has a Lauri Markkanen-like season. A season where Collins emerges from an up-and-down career, same as Markkanen, and turns into an All-Star caliber player.
That’s the goal and is clearly the goal, yet some are pushing for the idea of starting Taylor Hendricks, even though the move makes zero sense for the Utah Jazz. Collins makes the Jazz better and at just 26 years old, he still has a lot of time left in his playing career. He’s right there on Markkanen’s timeline as well, so it makes sense that the team tries to see what they have in the two forwards.
Can they play with one another? That’s the question, and with Collins’ ability to stretch the court when he’s healthy, he makes for a worthwhile partner for Markkanen.
Hendricks, for all the hype he has, isn’t better than Collins now, nor does he have the skillset that Collins has; at least yet. He’s still fairly raw and shooting 39% from three in college isn’t nearly as impressive as what Collins has done in his pro career from the same range. Hendricks may be the next big thing in Utah Jazz basketball, but he’s not currently and that needs to be realized.
No rookie the Jazz picked up so far has shown a consistency that demands to be in the starting lineup. Hendricks, and fellow rookie Keyonte George, have got to prove to the higher-ups that they can in fact do some damage to opposing teams, but it shouldn’t be in the starting lineup.
George is very streaky so far in his early career, and Hendricks is just now putting tape down for people to see. They haven’t proven they’re those guys yet. They might be, but right now they’re not.
It takes time to develop most rookies. It’s likely they’ll be spotty and inconsistent for a while, but if they aren’t, should they become so impressive off the bench, then all bets are off. But the odds of Hendricks, or George, or both of them, being so good that you bench proven talent isn’t the way to win in this league.
And the goal is to win.
