Many thought the Utah Jazz trading Walker Kessler to the Los Angeles Lakers was the most unforeseen twist of their offseason. It was definitely the biggest, but not the one that came the most out of left field. No, that would have to be when they traded Cody Williams and John Konchar to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Even if it was pretty understandable why the Jazz did this, no one thought they had planned to give up on Williams so soon. At the same time, the Timberwolves are going to realize something about Williams the Jazz already knew: he progresses at a snail's pace.
In all fairness, the Timberwolves might be the likeliest team to unlock Williams, as the recent history with their player development has been downright spectacular. However, they should know that Williams is a pretty raw prospect.
In all fairness, if this happened last year, there would be more pessimism because the former Jazz lottery pick showed absolutely nothing his rookie season. Year 2 showed promise from Williams, in that he could actually be an NBA player, but at the same time, it's not like he flipped the narrative on himself completely.
Minnesota acquired Williams to keep him likely believing he could be an asset to them if all goes well. They might be right, but they should know that Williams will take more baby steps than most NBA prospects.
Williams was playing his best basketball in March & April
Perhaps what convinced the Timberwolves that Williams was worth investing in was the fact that he was, in fact, balling out (strictly speaking) towards the end of the 2025-26 season. From March 5 to April 12, Williams averaged 16.4 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 46.7% from the field.
But we must keep in mind that he was doing this for a Jazz team that was doing everything in their power to lose. Utah was more than happy to let Williams stretch his legs as long as he didn't get in the way of their tank. In that stretch, the Jazz won four out of 19 games total.
So one could argue that it's a case of good stats, bad team, and it's most likely what it was. However, at least Williams showed something when Utah gave him the necessary playing time because they did the same thing his rookie year, and he did absolutely nothing.
The door is definitely not closed on Cody Williams, but while it should remain open, it will be a while before it leads to anything for Minnesota.
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