Taylor Hendricks Talks Which Jazz Players He’s Connected With Early On

One of the many benefits of the recent annual Las Vegas NBA Summer League is giving new players on new teams the perfect time to convene with some teammates. Rookies come to play some ball with other young players, while existing and established members of the team often come to watch and be around the action.

Things are no different in the case of the Utah Jazz’s 9th-overall selection, Taylor Hendricks. While we unfortunately did not see him in any action on the court, he still managed to show out for some time in Vegas beginning to know some players in the process.

We know Hendricks already has an established relationship with newly drafted Brice Sensabaugh dating back to AAU days, but who are some other teammates Hendricks has gotten to know? Well, in an interview with Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (subscription required), Taylor pointed out Micah Potter and Ochai Agbaji as some notable names he’s spent some time with on the team:

"Pretty much everybody, but mostly probably Ochai [Agbaji] and Micah Potter. Those guys just have been talking to me the most. Me and Micah relate because we’re both Christians — we have the same [Bible] verse in our Instagram bio [Matthew 6:33], so that’s pretty much how that relationship started.

Both Potter and Agbaji were some significant pieces of Utah’s Summer League team and look to have gotten to know the incoming rookie in the process. Walden later asked about some of the older veterans on the Jazz, where he talks a bit about Kelly Olynyk, among a few other guys on the squad:

"Yeah, Kelly Olynyk has really been around a lot, so [I’ve been] talking to him. And then Kris Dunn was [in Las Vegas] for a couple of days in the summer league, Talen Horton[-Tucker] was here a couple of days, Collin [Sexton] was here for a couple of days as well. So I got to meet them in person and just talk to them."

While training camps and pre-season will be a much better and more important time for these new parts of the team to get integrated with the roster, some positive early impressions are always helpful. Especially when it comes to veteran leadership, being with the young players on the roster is crucial for their development moving forward.

Jazz fans can look closer to the season starting in October to see how this roster continues to mesh.

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