The Utah Jazz had their reasons for why they traded Cody Williams. He was a work in progress who likely would not get much playing time this season. Because the Jazz want to win this season, they couldn't afford to be patient anymore. Traded him made sense, but trading him to Minnesota might be a bad idea in the long run.
In all fairness, Williams may be a good player no matter which team he ended up with, but what makes the Timberwolves a tad scary is the fact that their development has proven itself to be quite beneficiary to them.
Multiple players have risen through the ranks with the Timberwolves, including Naz Reid, Jaden McDaniels, and also former Jazzman Nickeil Alexander-Walker. NAW is the one to pay attention to because he and Williams have similar archetypes.
Like Williams, NAW was a former lottery pick that many thought could have been a steal when he was originally drafted in 2019. It took a few teams for him to progress, but it was specifically in Minnesota where he got his chance to shine, and since leaving them for Atlanta, he has won Most Improved Player of the Year.
The Timberwolves put him in that position to succeed, hence turning him from a random harmless flyer in the Rudy Gobert trade into a key cog of their rotation. The Timberwolves unlocked his potential, and now they basically they have someone who could follow a similar trajectory in Williams.
This could be a problem for Utah
No NBA team bats 1000 on draft picks. The Jazz know this, especially when looking at who they've picked in the Danny Ainge era. However, Williams may not only find his footing with the Timberwolves, but he might be good enough to make them a bigger threat to the Jazz.
Utah and Minnesota have the exact same goals this season: to go as far as possible. The Timberwolves have tapped into player development to make that happen, and it's proven to work. That probably explains why they clearly believe in Williams.
The Timberwolves are expected to keep Cody Williams, the No. 10 pick in 2024, and waive-and-stretch John Konchar, sources said. They found a home for Josh Green on a Jazz team that wanted an additional 3-and-D wing; moving his $14.7 million deal gives Minnesota the salary space… https://t.co/iyikXWZjvX
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 29, 2026
If Williams pans out for them, they become a bigger threat to Utah's goals and really to the Western Conference as a whole. The Timberwolves have been up there for the last few years and have drastically changed their formula in their efforts to push them over the top this offseason.
It's tough to say if Williams is their last piece, because if the Jazz believed that, they wouldn't have traded him period, let alone to a West rival. However, he was playing some of his best basketball in the closing weeks of the Jazz's tank. If he can strike while the iron is hot, that's bad news for the rest of the league, let alone the Jazz.
And now they put him on the team that was among the likeliest to unlock him.
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