Predicting Which Jazz Players Don’t Make the Initial Rotation

Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy enters his second year in Salt Lake City with a team loaded with NBA experience. With a deep roster comes some difficult decisions when training camp starts in less than two months.

What players are in danger of not making the rotation to start the season? Let’s examine.

Taylor Hendricks

Despite being the No. 9 overall pick, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Hendricks spend some time in the G-league to start his young career. Utah’s frontcourt is set with Walker Kessler, John Collins, and Lauri Markkanen as the starters, and Kelly Olynyk is the first big off the bench. With the recent signing of Ömer Yurtseven, getting minutes at the five will also be challenging.

Last season, Hardy would play up to 11 players on any given night, but unless Hendricks can show he’s more than NBA-ready in camp, expect the 2023 lottery pick to begin the year mainly as a spectator.

Brice Sensabaugh

The Jazz caught a break when Sensabaugh fell to the No. 28 overall pick of the 2023 draft. However, if Sensabaugh was looking to make an impact right out of the gates, he was drafted by the wrong team.

Utah has an overabundance of capable wings to start the season, which may force the first-round pick in the G-league. Jazz fans can anticipate Sensabaugh to be at the back of the depth chart unless injuries or a trade clears a path for the rookie.

Simone Fontecchio

The second-year Jazzman from Italy appeared to make some strides in the second half of last season, but he could be a casualty of Utah’s depth at the wing. Some minutes are up for grabs at the small forward spot, but I expect Ochai Agbaj or Talen Horton-Tucker to be first in line for those opportunities.

With the Jazz having long-term commitments to other players, expect the front office to use Fontecchio’s expiring contract as part of an exchange at some point this season.

Luka Šamanić

Šamanić is a candidate to get minutes at the three or four, but he could be in the same boat as Fontecchio in regard to playing time. However, if push came to shove, expect Šamanić to be ahead of Fontecchio in the pecking order due to the Jazz being committed to the former first-round pick for two years rather than one.

Also, Šamanić has the size that Utah covets paired with more versatility, making him a more intriguing prospect than Fontecchio.

Jazz fans will get answers soon, with the first game less than two months away.

Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live-stream