Cody Williams had a nightmare rookie season for the Utah Jazz last year, and his preseason performance hasn't exactly been too great as a whole. As if there wasn't enough pressure on the Jazz sophomore already, Matas Buzelis' rise will only put more pressure on Williams to figure things out.
Buzelis was picked right after Williams in the 2024 NBA Draft, as the Chicago Bulls picked him with the 11th overall pick. Position-wise, Buzelis and Williams are pretty similar, with the only difference being the former being far ahead of the latter in terms of development.
That has only looked worse since the preseason began, as Buzelis looks like his late-season surge was no mirage.
Matas Buzelis with another enticing pre-season performance on both ends of the floor pic.twitter.com/gR7Rvnt98r
— NBA University (@NBA_University) October 15, 2025
Combine that with Williams' struggles during the preseason, and it's not looking good. Preseason has never counted for anything, but Buzelis and Williams looking like they are on the same trajectory as they were at the end of last season is not a good look for Williams.
Now, it's a long season, and Williams has always looked like a project for the Jazz, but decisions like these will continue to rear their ugly head if Buzelis looks like the real deal while Williams looks like a real swing and a miss.
It's frustrating because the idea of Williams is very enticing. It really seems like he could be the jack-of-all-trades oversized point guard that give the Jazz so much versatility by himself. The irony is that Buzelis might just be that and more if he continues to ascend.
Williams not panning out teaches a harsh reality
Let the record show that no one is giving up on Williams as it is too early, but that rookie performance from him was a tough pill to swallow. It was bad enough to the point that there might not be a Jazz lottery pick in franchise history who currently faces as much skepticism their second NBA season as he currently is.
If he doesn't, it goes to show that not everyone will pan out in a rebuild. Utah has typically not been one to rely on youth movements in the past, so this is new territory for them, but for how much young talent they have at their disposal, not every single one of them will work out.
That's actually inevitable at this point that some of the Jazz's young players will not be part of their long-term plan either because they couldn't find their footing or couldn't find their niche on the team. As nice it is to see the likes of Brice Sensabaugh and Kyle Filipowski looking like draft day steals, that also comes with the caveat of guys like Williams turning out to be busts.
Again, we're not there yet about Williams or any of the other Jazz youngsters in general yet, but big decisions are coming soon enough for the Jazz, and Williams might be the toughest cut.