Jazz's Taylor Hendricks Reveals Huge Goal for Next Season

While it wasn't a year in which Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks got many extensive reps on the floor due to his brutal ankle injury suffered earlier in the season, it seems his recovery and shift back to basketball form is ramping up rather nicely, with the 21-year-old apparently on an upward trend physically, prepared to get back to 100% later this July.

And with Hendricks' return to the lineup soon to come, it looks like his sights are set high to make an immediate impact when he's back on the floor next season for Utah.

Hendricks recently sounded off on a bit of his personal expectations for his third year in the league next season during his end-of-season presser, where he noted his ultimate goal of becoming an impactful two-way force in the Jazz's lineup.

"Just to be that go-to defender; be our best all-around defender," Hendricks said. "Blocking shots, guarding on the perimeter. And then, just being very solid offensively, someone that Coach Hardy can trust."

For the Jazz, finding that number-one, versatile defender on the roster will be insanely critical for their success on the floor moving forward. Utah has had their immense struggles on the defensive side of the ball for the past two seasons, falling in as one of the worst-ranked defensive teams in the NBA, making the need for high-level, tenacious defenders that much more important.

This year's draft does present an opportunity to land those aspired defenders, but when looking at what the Jazz have on their current roster with a guy like Hendricks, there's a golden opportunity for him to emerge as that defensive piece, and especially so when he's back to full health.

Before getting injured this season, Hendricks was averaging 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, and while it does come off an extremely small sample size of three games, the Jazz forward has clearly exhibited since being drafted that he has the length, versatility, and defensive skillset to hone into one of the best overall on or off-ball matchups in the NBA.

Offensively, Hendricks has the chance to elevate into an increased, more impactful role as well. Especially with his size and appealing floor spacing, he can develop into a dangerous mismatch for opposing defenses with the right tools.

Utah may not have big plans for him to develop into a top two or three scorer on the roster at his best, but as a connecting piece with productive traits on both sides of the floor, Hendricks's archetype can be a huge asset to have within any NBA rotation.

And when asking Hendricks himself, he clearly has the confidence he can put those pieces together to do so ahead of next season. If he can, it'll be an immense boost to what this Jazz unit can put out on both ends of the floor for, not just the coming year, but for the foreseeable future too.

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