Utah Jazz Move Down Pair of First Round Picks to G League

The Utah Jazz have moved a couple of their first round selections over the past three summers down to their G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars.

According to a team announcement, third-year forward Taylor Hendricks and rookie guard Walter Clayton Jr. have been assigned to the G League.

We have assigned Walter Clayton Jr and Taylor Hendricks to the @slcstars 💫#TakeNote
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 22, 2025

Both guys have been regular depth pieces in the Jazz's rotation through the first month of the season, but in recent games, both players' minutes and opportunities have been on a downward trend.

Utah Jazz Assign Walter Clayton, Taylor Hendricks to G League

Through three of the past four games of the season, Clayton has been a DNP-coach's decision to log zero minutes, managing to get just 12 minutes of run during the Jazz's latest game vs. the OKC Thunder, albeit in fourth-quarter garbage time.

During the 12 games Clayton has been healthy this season, he's averaged 5.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on 41.1% shooting from the field, playing in just over 15 minutes a night.

As for Hendricks, he hasn't played in six of his last seven games this year due to either a hamstring injury or coach's decision, only playing in that fourth-quarter stretch against the Thunder for eight minutes; still seemingly getting adjusted back to the NBA game after missing all but three games of last season with a major leg injury.

During his 10 games active, Hendricks has averaged 4.1 points and 4.1 rebounds on 34.9% shooting from the field.

Oct 29, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0) defends against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Both Clayton and Hendricks will now find themselves working with the Stars for the near future, which isn't an irregular move for Will Hardy and the Jazz to make with their young talents, as shown through the past couple of years.

Last season, all three of the Jazz's draft selections— Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier, and Kyle Filipowski— all saw some sort of stint in the G League ranks before elevating to a bigger role in the rotation for the second half of the year.

The year prior, Hendricks and Brice Sensabaugh was the rookie pairing getting run with the Stars for some time before following the same path last year's first-year talents did.

Utah has shown to have a unique approach to devleoping their young talent since starting their rebuild off a few years ago, and utilizing the G League to their advantage has been a big part of that.

Now, Clayton and Hendricks are the latest young pieces to fall with the Stars, and will likely see their development benefit because of it. Both will get extended shot opportunities and minutes to play in a live-game setting, while working out the kinks each have presented through their first month of the year.

Both will eventually find their way back in the mix for the Jazz's main rotation down the line for this season, but for now, they'll have a new challenge in the G to take on.

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