Zaccharie Risacher's issues should make Jazz feel better about Cody Williams

It's amazing how much Cody Williams' stock improved over the course of the season. It wasn't overnight, but the Utah Jazz sophomore evolved so much that it's in their best interest to keep developing him. Reinforcing that notion is the fact that Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 pick from the same draft as Williams, has had a sophomore slump at the worst time.

The Atlanta Hawks are in the playoffs, but that's no thanks to Risacher. After all the roster turnover, the Hawks have formed a formidable team, but Risacher hasn't had much to do with their success.

His role has slightly decreased with time, and his traditional stats have mostly stayed the same, though his scoring average went down a tad. Risacher only fueled the growing doubt

All of this has got to make the Jazz feel pretty relieved that Williams, who honestly has an archetype not too different from Risacher, took a good step forward. Many were discouraged about him showing pretty much literally nothing in his rookie year.

He started to show more, though not a lot at first, in Year 2. But once the Jazz committed to the tank, Williams began to show out. That is a major step because they gave him plenty of chances to do just that last season and saw absolutely no results.

Williams showed just enough that Utah should be both curious and excited for what comes next. The fact that Risacher has not shown similar progress should make them feel even better on that front.

That's not to say it's over for the former No. 1 pick.

If Williams can improve, so can Risacher

If there's one NBA player who can assure Hawks fans to be patient with Risacher, it's Williams. It's a little more difficult for Atlanta because Risacher is playing for a win-now team, headlined by the likes of Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and CJ McCollum. Williams will too next year, but it's clear the Hawks' young player will need time to become a good NBA player.

The problem might simply be that Risacher is a project like Williams is. Because of that, he is better off on a team that can be patient with him. The Hawks may give him more time to find himself, but it wouldn't be surprising if they dangle him in a trade this offseason so they can build off a pretty promising year.

It's getting less and less certain as to whether Risacher truly is part of the Hawks' core moving forward, but hey, Williams knows what it feels like to be in the place his fellow 2024 draftee is in. So whether they move him or not, things can awlays get better from here.

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