Taevion Kinsey Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz Notes: Hendricks, Collins, Williams, G League

October 29th, 2024 at 7:56am CST by Luke Adams

The gruesome right leg injury that Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks suffered on Monday is expected to sideline him for the rest of the 2024/25 season, sources tell Tim MacMahon of ESPN. While Hendricks will undergo further testing on Tuesday, he was diagnosed on Monday night with a fractured right fibula and dislocated ankle.

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

Hendricks, who will turn 21 next month, played sparingly as a rookie, especially in the first half of the season, finishing with 23 starts in 40 total outings. The Jazz had planned to increase his role and his responsibilities in his second year. The 6’9″ forward started each of Utah’s first three contests and averaged 26.6 minutes per night in his two full games, well above the 21.4 MPG he logged last season.

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

I expect the Jazz to apply for a disabled player exception following Hendricks’ injury, but that exception would be worth just $2.92MM (half of his salary) and wouldn’t grant the team an extra roster spot, so its usefulness would be limited.

Here’s more on Hendricks and the Jazz:

Hendricks’ teammates were devastated to see him go down with such a significant injury, as Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. “It’s just put me in an emotional state,” fellow 2023 first-rounder Keyonte George said. “That’s just my brother. I didn’t know him growing up, and then building a relationship with him over the year, he felt like family. I told him I loved him, told him I’m here for him, whatever he needs.” Third-year center Walker Kessler echoed that sentiment: “The biggest thing is just being there for him physically and checking up 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 gap in the rotation, according to Larsen, who considers in a separate story for The Salt Lake Tribune how the team might plug those holes. As Larsen writes, while John Collins is an obvious candidate to take Hendricks’ spot in the starting lineup, units that featured him, Lauri Markkanen, and Kessler weren’t effective last season. With that in mind, Larsen believes rookie forward Cody Williams might be the better option. While he expects Utah’s decision to come down to Collins vs. Williams, Larsen also mentions Brice Sensabaugh, Johnny Juzang, and Kyle Filipowski as longer-shot options for promotions to the starting five.
The Salt Lake City Stars have announced their training camp roster for the 2024/25 season (via Twitter). It includes a handful of players who were with Utah during training camp and the preseason, including Isaiah Wong, Taevion Kinsey, Max Abmas, and Justin Lewis.

Jazz Cut Max Abmas, Taevion Kinsey, Isaiah Wong

October 8th, 2024 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have trimmed their preseason roster from 21 players to 18, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived camp invitees Max Abmas, Taevion Kinsey, and Isaiah Wong.

Abmas, Kinsey, and Wong joined Utah in September on non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts. They remained on the roster through training camp and a pair of preseason games, but none of them saw any action in either of those contests.

In all likelihood, the trio is now headed for the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz’s G League affiliate. Hoops Rumors can confirm all three players received maximum Exhibit 10 bonuses, so as long as they spend at least 60 days with the Stars, they’ll earn $77.5K apiece on top of their standard G League salaries.

Utah is now carrying 15 players on guaranteed standard contracts and three on two-way deals. The team will likely enter the regular season with those 18 players, but could continue to shuffle others in and out of the final three spots on its 21-man preseason roster for G League rights/bonus purposes during the next couple weeks.

Two Jazz Signings Among NBA’s Latest Minor Moves

September 28th, 2024 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of recently reported Jazz signings are now official, according to the NBA transaction log at RealGM.com. Utah has officially signed guard Isaiah Wong and wing Taevion Kinsey, whose Exhibit 10 agreements with the team were revealed within the last week.

RealGM actually lists both players as having signed with Sacramento, but that appears to be an input error — their deals were said to be with Utah, and Wong and Kinsey are both listed on the Jazz’s roster on the team’s official website.

Another Exhibit 10 signing was officially completed on Friday, with the Hawks announcing in a press release that they’ve added Daeqwon Plowden to their training camp roster. Plowden had been on a two-way deal with the Warriors but was recently waived in order to make room for rookie Quinten Post.

Here are a few more of the minor roster moves from around the league that were overshadowed on Friday by the news of the biggest trade of the 2024 offseason:

According to the official transaction log at NBA.com, the Trail Blazers have waived Estonian wing Henri Drell, who had been on an Exhibit 10 contract. Drell will likely end up playing for the Rip City Remix, Portland’s G League affiliate.
The Spurs have cut guard Jameer Nelson Jr., the son of former NBA guard Jameer Nelson, per NBA.com. As we wrote when Nelson signed with San Antonio earlier this week, he seems destined to become an affiliate player for the Austin Spurs in the NBAGL.
The Clippers have waived guard Elijah Harkless, according to NBA.com. Harkless spent the 2023/24 season playing for the Clippers’ G League affiliate and will likely return to the team – now known as the San Diego Clippers – this fall.

Jazz To Sign Taevion Kinsey On Exhibit 10 Contract

September 27th, 2024 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz are signing Taevion Kinsey to an Exhibit 10 contract, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets.

Kinsey had been on a two-way contract with Utah, which he signed in July, but was waived in August. He’s now returning to the organization as part of the training camp roster.

Kinsey went undrafted in 2023 after playing five college seasons at Marshall. As a “super senior” for the Thundering Herd in 2022/23, he averaged 22.1 PPG, 5.4 APG, 4.9 RPG and 1.7 SPG on .542/.404/.744 shooting in 32 games (37.8 MPG), earning Sun Belt Player of the Year for his efforts.

A 6’5″ wing, Kinsey signed a training camp deal with Utah last summer and was waived in October. He wound up signing a 10-day contract with the Jazz in March, but he didn’t appear in a game.

Kinsey spent the majority of his first pro season playing for the Jazz’s NBA G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. In 50 Showcase Cup and regular season games with the Stars (29.6 MPG), he averaged 10.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.1 APG while posting a strong shooting line of .555/.427/.780.

He’ll be eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he’s waived, then rejoins the Stars for at least 60 days.

Jazz Waive Two-Way Player Taevion Kinsey

August 12th, 2024 at 4:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz are waiving two-way player Taevion Kinsey, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. A Jazz press release has confirmed that the move is official.

It’s a tough break for Kinsey, who signed his two-year, two-way deal in early July. Utah had all three of its two-way spots filled, so it now creates an opening to sign another player.

The Jazz’s front office has been busy in recent days. The team officially signed second-round rookie Kyle Filipowski and inked Svi Mykhailiuk to a four-year deal. Terms of Filipowski’s contract haven’t been revealed but he’ll be on a standard deal. Jason Preston and Micah Potter hold the other two-way slots.

Kinsey, 24, went undrafted in 2023 after playing five college seasons at Marshall. As a “super senior” for the Thundering Herd in 2022/23, he averaged 22.1 PPG, 5.4 APG, 4.9 RPG and 1.7 SPG on .542/.404/.744 shooting in 32 games (37.8 MPG), earning Sun Belt Player of the Year for his efforts.

A 6’5″ wing, Kinsey signed a training camp deal with Utah last summer and was waived in October before the ’23/24 season began. He wound up signing a 10-day contract with the Jazz in March, but he didn’t appear in a game.

Kinsey spent the majority of his first pro season playing for the Jazz’s NBA G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. In 50 Showcase Cup and regular season games with the Stars (29.6 MPG), he averaged 10.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.1 APG while posting a strong shooting line of .555/.427/.780.

Jazz Sign Taevion Kinsey To Two-Way Contract

July 5th, 2024 at 3:22pm CST by Rory Maher

3:22pm: Kinsey has officially signed his two-way contract, according to the NBA’s transaction log. It’s a two-year deal, Hoops Rumors has learned.

8:08am: Free agent guard Taevion Kinsey has agreed to a two-way contract with the Jazz, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).

Kinsey, 24, went undrafted in 2023 after playing five college seasons at Marshall. As a “super senior” for the Thundering Herd in 2022/23, he averaged 22.1 PPG, 5.4 APG, 4.9 RPG and 1.7 SPG on .542/.404/.744 shooting in 32 games (37.8 MPG), earning Sun Belt Player of the Year for his efforts.

A 6’5″ wing, Kinsey signed a training camp deal with Utah last summer and was waived in October before the ’23/24 season began. He wound up signing a 10-day contract with the Jazz in March, but he didn’t appear in a game.

Kinsey spent the grand majority of his first pro season playing for the Jazz’s NBA G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. In 50 Showcase Cup and regular season games with the Stars (29.6 MPG), he averaged 10.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.1 APG while posting a strong shooting line of .555/.427/.780.

Darius Bazley Signs With Jazz

March 12th, 2024 at 4:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 12: Bazley has officially signed with the Jazz and they’ve terminated the 10-day contract of guard Kinsey, according to a team press release.

As we relayed in a separate story, Lofton officially signed his contract with Utah on Monday when the team waived Porter.

MARCH 11: The Jazz will sign Darius Bazley to a three-year, non-guaranteed contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Utah will also add Kenneth Lofton Jr. under the same terms, Wojnarowski tweets.

Bazley, a 23-year-old center/power forward, made a brief NBA appearance last month when he signed a 10-day contract with the Sixers. He saw limited playing time in three games and didn’t receive a second 10-day deal.

Bazley returned to the Delaware Blue Coats in the G League, where’s he’s averaging 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in 22 regular season games.

The Jazz will be third team this season for Lofton, a 21-year-old power forward. He began the season in Memphis, where he played on a two-way contract in 2022/23, but he was waived in mid-December after appearing in 15 games.

The Sixers signed him to a two-way contract five days later, but released him at the beginning of March. He’s averaging 2.4 points and 1.1 rebounds in 17 total games this season.

Utah currently has a full roster, but that includes Taevion Kinsey, whose 10-day contract began on Saturday. Kinsey may be released early from that deal, or the Jazz could wait a few days to make the Bazley or Lofton signings official.

Veteran forward Otto Porter, who hasn’t played since being acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline, seems likely to be waived to open another roster spot.

Jazz Sign Taevion Kinsey To 10-Day Deal

March 9th, 2024 at 11:40am CST by Rory Maher

MARCH 9: The Jazz have officially signed Kinsey to a 10-day deal, according to a release from the team.

MARCH 8: The Jazz are signing free agent guard Taevion Kinsey to a 10-day contract, agent Scott Nichols tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Kinsey, 23, went undrafted in June after playing five college seasons at Marshall. As a “super senior” for the Thundering Herd in 2022/23, he averaged 22.1 PPG, 5.4 APG, 4.9 RPG and 1.7 SPG on .542/.404/.744 shooting in 32 games (37.8 MPG), earning Sun Belt Player of the Year for his efforts.

A 6’5″ wing, Kinsey signed a training camp deal with Utah last summer and was waived before the ’23/24 season began. He’s been playing for the Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, averaging 10.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 1.9 APG on .558/.468/.840 shooting in 25 regular season games (28.7 MPG).

As our tracker shows, the Jazz have an opening on their standard roster, so they won’t have to release anyone to sign Kinsey, who will earn $64,343 on the 10-day contract in addition to his NBAGL salary.

Jazz Sign Devoe, Justice; Waive Kinsey, Ongenda

October 11th, 2023 at 7:25pm CST by Rory Maher

The Jazz have signed guard Michael Devoe and forward Keshawn Justice, the team announced in a press release. To create room on the 21-man offseason roster, Utah waived Taevion Kinsey and Nick Ongenda, both of whom were on training camp contracts.

While the terms of the agreements were not disclosed, it seems likely that Devoe and Justice signed Exhibit 10 deals and will eventually be waived and headed to the G League to play for the Jazz’s affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. In that scenario, both players could earn bonuses worth up to $75K if they spend at least 60 days with the Stars.

The Stars acquired Devoe’s returning player rights from the Rip City Remix (Portland’s new NBAGL affiliate) last month. The former Georgia Tech standout signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Clippers last fall, was waived, and spent his first pro season playing for their affiliate, the Ontario Clippers.

Devoe had modest stats for Ontario (6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 20.8 minutes over 29 regular season games), but he had a strong Summer League showing for the Blazers, averaging 18.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals in just 23.9 minutes. Of course, that was a small sample size, as he only played four games.

Justice went undrafted in June after five seasons at Santa Clara. As a “super senior” in 2022/23, the 23-year-old averaged 13.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 rebounds in 33 games for the Broncos (34.9 minutes). He played for the Jazz’s Summer League squad, averaging 10.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals in five games (23.4 minutes).

The Jazz’s roster remains at the offseason maximum of 21 players under contract, including 12 players on guaranteed standard deals. All three of Utah’s two-way slots are filled.

Jazz Sign Taevion Kinsey, Romeo Langford, Nick Ongenda

August 30th, 2023 at 4:19pm CST by Rory Maher

The Jazz have officially signed Taevion Kinsey, Romeo Langford and Nick Ongenda, per a team press release.

While the terms of the contracts were not disclosed, the Jazz said the trio of free agents were added to their training camp roster, so they’ll likely all be on Exhibit 10 deals — it has already been reported that Langford will receive an Exhibit 10 contract.

Kinsey, a 6’5″ guard, went undrafted in June after five college seasons, all at Marshall. As a “super senior” in 2022/23, he averaged 22.1 PPG, 5.4 APG, 4.9 RPG and 1.7 SPG on .542/.404/.744 shooting in 32 games (37.8 MPG), earning Sun Belt Player of the Year for his efforts.

Ongenda, a 6’11” center, also went undrafted in June. He spent all four of his college seasons at DePaul, averaging 12.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.1 SPG and 4.4 BPG in 2022/23. However, those numbers came in a small sample size — the Canadian big man was limited to just eight games (30.5 MPG) this past season due to a wrist injury.

Both Kinsey and Ongenda played for the Jazz during Summer League action in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.

The Jazz have now reached the offseason maximum of 21 players under contract, with 15 players on standard deals (12 guaranteed) and all three two-way slots filled.

If Kinsey and Ongenda signed Exhibit 10 contracts and are waived before the season starts, they could each receive a bonus worth up to $75K if they spend at least 60 days with the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s G League affiliate. Exhibit 10 deals can also be converted into two-way contracts, though as we previously noted, Langford is ineligible for a two-way deal because he has already played four NBA seasons.