The Jazz have exercised their 2025/26 rookie scale team options on four players, the team announced today in a press release. Those four players and their accompanying options are as follows:
- Taylor Hendricks (third year, $6,127,080)
- Walker Kessler (fourth year, $4,878,938)
- Keyonte George (third year, $4,278,960)
- Brice Sensabaugh (third year, $2,693,760)
After an impressive rookie season in which he finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, Kessler didn’t take a real step forward as a sophomore in 2023/24, with his averages slipping a little in categories like PPG (8.1), RPG (7.5), and FG% (.654). However, he’s still just 23 years old and is on an extremely team-friendly contract. He’ll now be eligible for a rookie scale extension in 2025 and will become a restricted free agent in 2026 if he doesn’t sign a new deal next offseason.
[RELATED: Decisions On 2025/26 Rookie Scale Team Options]
Hendricks, George, and Sensabaugh were first-round picks in the 2023 draft. Of the three, George saw the most significant role as a rookie, starting 44 of his 75 games and averaging 27.0 minutes per night. While he struggled to score efficiently, making just 39.1% of his shots from the floor (33.4% from beyond the arc), he showed real promise in his age-20 season, averaging 13.0 PPG and 4.4 APG.
Hendricks averaged 7.3 PPG and 4.6 RPG on .450/.379/.793 shooting in 40 games (23 starts) in his rookie year, while Sensabaugh had 7.5 PPG and 3.2 RPG on .390/.296/.902 shooting in 32 outings (11 starts). Both players only really saw significant playing time down the stretch after the Jazz fell out of the play-in race, but they should get an opportunity to earn more regular roles from day one in 2024/25.
The Jazz will have to make fourth-year option decisions on Hendricks, George, and Sensabaugh by October 31, 2025.