The Triple Team: What’s going on with the Jazz’s youth? Early-season impressions from Ace to Williams.
Three thoughts on the week that was in Jazz basketball from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.
1. The Jazz’s draft class of 2023
We’re going to do a bit of a gimmick Triple Team this time, because we have so much to cover with so many of the Jazz’s young players. The season’s second week has been really revealing — both in how the league sees these players on their scouting reports, and how the Jazz view them in the context of their rotations. Let’s get started:
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks dunks the ball as the Utah Jazz host the LA Clippers, NBA basketball in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.
No. 9 overall: Taylor Hendricks
The brightest spot is how Hendricks looks physically out there. Not only is he healthy after recovering from last year’s leg injury, he is stronger and bigger than ever before; he looks legitimately imposing.
In terms of production, the best aspect of Hendricks’ game has been how he’s attacked the glass and the rim: He’s frequently flying in from the corner and grabbing offensive rebounds; he’s also proven adept on one-dribble plays moving toward the paint.
The downside is that he has not really found a reliable way to make an impact. On offense, he’s got a strange role as a filler that doesn’t add much with playmaking or shooting. On defense — where I think Hendricks has the most potential — he’s reliably been a step late on and off ball.
This all makes sense given all Hendricks has been through, but the spectrum of his NBA future is as wide as any third-year player in the league.
No. 16 overall: Keyonte George
He has been brilliant. He’s the story of the Jazz’s season so far. After wildly disappointing stagnation in Year 2, putting up a 39.1% field goal percentage for the second straight season, George has been efficient and smart offensively this year. Defensively, he is trying at a vastly different level.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) as the Utah Jazz host the Portland Trail Blazers, NBA basketball in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025.
Two notes I haven’t covered before: First, George is getting to the free-throw line at double the rate as last season — despite, he says, trying to dive for fouls less often. Jazz coach Will Hardy has instructed him to become a straight-line driver, which is also one of the NBA’s points of emphasis this season, and it is working.
Second, the wins and losses are getting to him more than before. Last season, George could frequently be seen laughing and goofing around after a big loss — understandable in a tanking year, but still not a great sign. This year, he’s been much more mature. After the Jazz laid a stinker against the Charlotte Hornets, he was legitimately upset. After a close win against the Celtics, he was elated not for his 31-point performance but for his teammates’ good games.
I’m wildly impressed.
No. 28 overall: Brice Sensabaugh
He slipped out of the rotation against Boston due to his lack of defense. Hardy explained why: “I felt like in tonight’s game, individual isolation defense was going to be a huge part of the game. … It felt like to me that (Elijah Harkless) was going to be better suited for this game.” He was right.
Sensabaugh’s a terrific shooter and a reasonably good scorer, but his strengths aren’t really being maximized in Hardy’s off-ball, movement-oriented system. And Sensabaugh really has been the slowest guy to pick up Utah’s aggressive defensive scheme. If the offense isn’t worth the defense … I get the decision.
I still buy Sensabaugh as an NBA player. He might look better just draining threes next to a ball-in-hand superstar, though.
2. The Jazz’s draft class of 2024
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Cody Williams (5) as the Utah Jazz host the LA Clippers, NBA basketball in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.
No. 10 overall: Cody Williams
Has mostly only been in the game in garbage time — and has largely continued to not produce.
The most worrying thing is the shot, which, even in warmups, goes in only a paltry percentage of the time. It has very limited rotation and differs significantly from shot to shot. It will be impossible for Williams to be a role player in the NBA if he doesn’t shoot better. He hasn’t added above-average play in terms of playmaking or rebounding or defense, either.
He used to be a better shooter than this, which leads me to believe he can be again. But I think it’s going to take a G League stint for that to happen, if it happens at all. It’s probably most likely it doesn’t happen.
No. 29 overall: Isaiah Collier
Collier has missed the start to the season due to a hamstring strain — but upon becoming available Monday, Hardy made him a DNP-CD.
“I haven’t really practiced with the team at all since, like, the first day training camp,” Collier explained. “That’s just really the main thing, just getting some practice under my belt and hopefully getting out there.”
Hardy, for his part, hopes that Collier will help the Jazz by starting their offense closer to the basket and by getting paint touches, advantages he has over other Jazz point guards. The shot is still pretty rough in warmups, but we’ll see what kinds of opportunities he gets moving forward.
No. 32 overall: Kyle Filipowski
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) as the Utah Jazz host the Portland Trail Blazers, NBA basketball in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025.
Started the season in the starting lineup, but now comes off the bench. I think there’s some logic to Hardy’s decision there — with Walker Kessler out, the Jazz probably need Hendricks’ defensive help compared to Filipowski’s offensive connectivity.
The minutes changes probably haven’t helped Filipowski find an offensive rhythm, though. Until Monday, he looked like he was forcing shots. Defensively, he competes in isolation on the perimeter, but has been basically an olé defender at the rim. (The Jazz have rarely played him at center this season, just 14% of his minutes, and have gotten killed when they have.)
He feels like a player who would look better on a better team, but given the defensive inconsistencies … he’s not blameless either. This feels like a good offensive system for Filipowski, though, and there’s a real chance for development throughout the year.
I think it’s notable Kevin Love told the team in a postgame speech Filipowski was the X-factor for the team’s win against Boston. Filipowski really looks up to Love as a player in his own mold, and it’s good of Love to make the second-year player feel good in a moment when he probably needs it.
3. The Jazz’s draft class of 2025
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz guard Ace Bailey (19) as the Utah Jazz host the Portland Trail Blazers, NBA basketball in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025.
No. 5 overall: Ace Bailey
I get one question more than any other right now: What’s going on with Ace Bailey?
His numbers are pretty bad — he’s shooting 27% from the field right now, and his plus-minus would generally indicate that he’s in the game when the opposing team goes on their runs. He’s also playing much less than his top-5 counterparts, coming off the bench for Hardy on a team that lacks star power.
The eye test, though, has been much more neutral. From that lens, Bailey is struggling with some of the Jazz’s team concepts, but has been less at fault for the Jazz’s bench struggles than some of his teammates. Offensively, the shots aren’t falling, but they have largely been reasonable attempts. The numbers are tainted as well by a rough illness Bailey had to start the season, where he was clearly too gassed to reliably function.
And in the long-term, I’m actually encouraged by the degree Bailey’s been trying to play within that system. The concern many had for him was that he’d be a system breaker by taking bad shots and not bringing the effort defensively. I don’t see that much at all.
I think there will come a point in this long season where the Jazz give, or Bailey takes, the keys to the team to a much, much higher degree than he has so far. Whether it’s due to injuries, trades or the standings, the Jazz won’t have quite as many of their top players in the rotation. But I’m not incredibly concerned about his performance in this small role in two weeks so far this year.
No. 18 overall: Walter Clayton, Jr.
Clayton, Jr. has found himself trusted by Hardy more immediately — you really get the sense that Hardy believes Clayton has a poise that his team can use in clutch moments. That makes sense, given his age (22) and pedigree (NCAA champion).
But the actual production has been a little bit unsteady. Clayton’s making an impact on the game by setting up teammates and fighting for loose balls, but has yet to find what he brings in terms of a reliable offensive threat.
At this point, it feels most likely he ends up somewhere between sixth man and third point guard in the NBA — but it’s still so, so early.
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