The jury is still out on Cody Williams, but if he pans out, it won't be for the Utah Jazz. When they traded him, many wondered if they pulled the plug too early. Whether he does or doesn't, he'll be remembered for being among the worst lottery picks in Jazz history. In their defense, though, the 2024 NBA Draft doesn't have much to brag about.
Look no further than what Atlanta just did. They waived Devin Carter shortly after acquiring him from Sacramento in a salary dump.
The Atlanta Hawks are waiving former lottery pick Devin Carter, according to league sources.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) September 11, 2026
Carter was drafted three selections after Williams, giving Utah proof that there wasn't a whole lot to choose from two years ago. The Jazz knew Williams was a project that would take time to develop. In all fairness, he started showing signs of progress, but it evidently wasn't enough for Utah to keep developing him.
Yes, there were other players taken after Williams who have proven a whole lot more and will likely turn out better, like Matas Buzelis, but you can't win them all and there was no telling who exactly was going to look ready out of the gate.
That's how much of a crapshoot that 2024 class truly was. There have been some impressive talents that were picked ahead of Williams, like Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, and Zach Edey, but look at the other players who were also picked ahead of him.
Zaccharie Risacher's on a new team already, Reed Sheppard is a perfectly adequate sixth man, Ron Holland is meh, Rob Dillingham is also on a new team, and does anyone know who Tidjane Salaun is?
People flame the Jazz for not picking a lane during that time until it was too late, but it's become clearer, even in hindsight, that there wasn't really a prospect worth throwing the season away for.
Utah nailed their other two picks too
So Utah didn't exactly get the kind of player they would have wanted out of Williams. What makes up for that is the fact that they got two reasonably productive players in Isaiah Collier late in the first round and Kyle Filipowski early in the second.
Neither of those players are going to be stars. In fact, after trading Williams, who knows what Utah's plan is with them? However, for where they were taken and knowing how badly this draft as a whole has panned out, the Jazz should feel pretty proud of finding them when they did.
No one thought Williams was going to be on the trading block, but because he hasn't exactly looked too great and Utah's win-now timeline pushed them into getting rid of players that aren't ready now, he got jettisoned. Carter's waiving shows that while Williams didn't pan out, Utah's choices two years ago clearly weren't too great.
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