The gruesome right leg injury Jazz forward Taylor Hendriks He is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the 2024-25 season, sources told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. While Hendricks will undergo further testing on Tuesday, he was diagnosed Monday evening with a broken right fibula and a dislocated ankle.

“That’s hard to digest,” head coach Will Hardy said about the injury. “He worked very hard. He’s a great kid, and so we’re really just trying to focus on him, on his health, keeping him going, keeping his spirits up as he starts the road of recovery. But these are the moments in sports that suck.”

Hendricks, who turns 21 next month, played sparingly as a rookie, especially in the first half of the season, finishing with 23 starts in 40 total games. The Jazz planned to expand his role and responsibilities in his second year. The 6-foot-4 forward started each of Utah’s first three games and averaged 26.6 minutes per night in his two full games, well above the 21.4 MPG he posted last season.

“This is far from over for him” Hardy said, according to MacMahon. “This is a pause button for Taylor. You can see (his work is paying off) even in the early parts of this season. You can see the flashes, you can see where this could go with him, and that’s a credit to him.

I expect the Jazz will seek a disabled player exception after Hendricks’ injury, but that exception would only be worth $2.92 million (half his salary) and wouldn’t give the team an additional roster spot, so the point of it would be limited.

Here’s more about Hendricks and the Jazz:

• Hendricks’ teammates were devastated to see him go down with such a serious injury, writes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. “It just put me in an emotional state.” co-first runner of 2023 Keyonte George said. ‘That’s just my brother. I didn’t know him growing up, and as I built a relationship with him over the year, he felt like family. I told him I loved him, told him I’m there for him no matter what he needs. Third year center Walker Kessler echoed that sentiment: “The most important thing is that you are physically there for him and checking on him. Right now he just needs a lot of support from a lot of people.
• Hendricks’ absence will leave an opening in the Jazz’s starting lineup and a significant hole in the rotation, according to Larsen, who discusses how the team could close those holes in a separate story for The Salt Lake Tribune. As Larsen writes, while John Collins is an obvious candidate to take Hendricks’ place in the starting line-up, units in which he appears, Lauri Markkanenand Kessler were ineffective last season. With that in mind, Larsen believes a rookie is a forward Cody Williams may be the better option. Although he expects Utah’s decision to come down to Collins vs. Williams, Larsen also mentions Brice Sensabaugh, Johnny JuzangAnd Kyle Filipowski as longer options for promotion to the starting five.
• The Salt Lake City Stars have announced their training camp schedule for the 2024-25 season (via Twitter). It includes a handful of players who were with Utah during training camp and the preseason, inclusive Isaiah Wong, Taevion Kinsey, Max AbmasAnd Justin Lewis.