A Prime Prospect Emerges at Pick 9 Based on Jazz CEO's Requirements

Taking a glance at the different online mock drafts, there’s about six or seven different prospects the experts are predicting to land in Salt Lake City at the No. 9 spot. With Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge keeping his cards close to his vest, it’s a guessing game of what path Utah will end up taking.

However, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. There are clues in Ainge’s past that speak to what type of player could be suiting up in a Jazz uniform in 2023-24.

Let’s examine.

First, let’s take a look at the current roster which Ainge built in Boston. The Celtics starting five consists of interchangeable players that can’t be picked on in isolation basketball. Drafting a player that can guard multiple positions should trump everything when picking at No. 9. Ainge stressed defense when asked what the Celtics' No. 1 need was heading into the 2021 trade deadline.

“But you always need defense, and our team is built on defense,” Ainge said on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich Show. “We've been winning with defense over the last few years. I know we haven't won a championship, but we need defense.”

Ainge double-downed on those sentiments in his end-of-season press conference this year with the Jazz.

“But like [Jazz head coach] Will [Hardy] said in his press conference, defense,” Ainge said. “We need to get better defensively.”

Also, the 2022-23 Celtics roster has players that have positional size that can stretch the floor on offense. Grant Williams and Al Horford launched a total of 616 three-point shots in 2022-23. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering Ainge’s remarks in the same interview back in 2021.

"I would say, maybe, shooting with size," Ainge said. "There are a lot of different ways you can win in this league. I would say that shooting we could use.”

Again, Ainge brought shooting up in regards to Utah’s needs moving forward.

“We weren’t a very good shooting team at the end of the year," Ainge said.

So what players meet Ainge’s criteria heading into draft day? Central Florida’s Taylor Hendricks is a prospect who checks the boxes.

Standing at 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot wingspan, Hendricks would give Utah the flexibility to start Lauri Markkanen at the three or four. Having two combo forwards playing simultaneously who can space the court, score with their back to the basket in the post, and face up bigger players in space is the versatility that’s needed to separate in today’s NBA.

In regard to shooting, Hendricks has the ability to be a difference-maker at the NBA level from day one. In his freshman year at UCF, Hendricks shot an impressive 47.8% from the field and 39.4% from long distance.

He’ll be one of the few rookies that’s NBA-ready because of his size, being an elite shot-maker, and ability to get to his spots in his half-court sets. But what about his defense?

NBA pundit Kyle Booth of CBS Sports had this to say in his most recent mock draft, predicting Hendricks will go to Utah with the ninth pick.

“Hendricks is perhaps the latest example of that, as he starred for UCF last season as a sharpshooting forward who can protect the rim and be a havoc-wreaker on defense.”

So will Hendricks be available when it’s Utah’s turn to pick? At this stage, it’s looking like a coin flip. Some mocks have the blue-chipper going as high as five, while others see him slipping to 12.

Utah has multiple roster holes that need to be addressed, but attempting to acquire what Hendricks brings to the table at a later date may not be in the cards. Even if it requires parlaying another draft pick to move up from nine, it may be worth the sacrifice.

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