Besides Ace Bailey, no other Utah Jazz youngster has been talked about more than Cody Williams in recent weeks. After a historically terrible rookie season, Williams has shown enough gradual improvement that Zach Lowe recently praised him for the leap he's taken, specifically on the defensive end, for him to believe Williams should be in the Jazz's rotations going forward.
On his podcast, Lowe commented on how much things have changed for Williams to the point that he believes Utah has something in him.
"Cody Williams, who looked like an epic bust of a top-10 pick ... he has shown enough in the last couple of months that I think there's a world in which he's a functional eighth to 10th guy on a good Utah Jazz team. His defense has really improved. He's a solid defender. He knows how to close out on guys short. He knows how to run guys off the arc. He's extremely well-balanced...
"He's big, he's long, he's rangy. Offensively, he's a little hit-or-miss."
Williams might not necessarily be a future star, but he has shown he might just have the tools to justify the Jazz picking him at No. 10 (even if he was picked just before Matas Buzelis) when many had already given up on him one year into his NBA career.
Williams' defensive improvement is also very good news for Utah knowing what's to come.
The Jazz need as many positive defenders as they can get next season
Offensively, Utah will be more than set for next season. Bailey, Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, and Jaren Jackson Jr. should all make for quite the powerful punch for the Jazz. Plus, who's to say Kyle Filipowski and Brice Sensabaugh can't factor into that?
They have more than enough firepower in the scoring department to be a force to be reckoned with. Defensively, there are some concerns. JJJ and Walker Kessler will definitely be fearsome enough for the Jazz, but that's just two guys. Utah will need more than just them, and that's why Williams may be more important than many think.
Williams has the physique to become one of the NBA's most unique players, and now he's putting it together. Even better, it's happening at the right time. His size and length can make him a tough player to get past, and if he gets better, the Jazz should feel confident about their team defense as a whole.
If Williams can add more to his game on the offensive side of the ball, the Jazz will become even harder to stop. They should be content just to see Williams ascend as a defender, but just about anyone and everyone would prefer a 3&D wing over a defensive specialist.