Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy on Friday said there is a possibility their three first-round picks see minutes in the rotation to start the regular season.
The Jazz added Taylor Hendricks (ninth pick), Keyonte George (16th pick) and Brice Sensabaugh (28th pick) through the NBA draft on June 22. The team also signed undrafted forward Joey Hauser to a two-way contract on July 3.
Of the trio of first-round picks, only George played in summer league. Hendricks (hamstring) and Sensabaugh (knee) were dealing with injuries and were held out of action. However, the three players are healthy and are ready for the start of training camp.
“The three of them are incredibly high character,” Hardy said. “They go at it. They have not backed down for one second out here playing with our veteran guys. Training camp is going to show us a lot. I think there is a world where each of them play could play themselves into minutes.”
George shined with the Jazz in three appearances before suffering an ankle injury in Las Vegas. He was named to the all-summer league first team after averaging 21.2 points, 6.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds on 44.4% shooting from 3-point range.
Hendricks is highly touted out of UCF for his ability as a shot blocker and floor spacer. Meanwhile, Sensabaugh impressed last season at Ohio State as a scorer given his size and ability to work at all three levels. Each projects to be able to help the Jazz.
Training camp will serve as a tremendous opportunity for the three players to make a name for themselves and lock in a spot in the rotation. The team will know a lot more about them throughout the preseason.
“If they come and they have a good camp and look like they’re ready to help the team, then that’s where we’ll go,” Hardy said. “If not, we’ll use the resources we have available to try to help them get ready as quickly as possible. All three of them are 19 years old.
“I think the biggest thing for those three players in training camp is not about me or (general manager) Justin (Zanik) and what we think of them, it’s about earning the trust of their teammates because if their teammates think they can help them win, they’ll be all about it.”
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