Mar 28, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Utah Jazz forward Cody Williams (5) during in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Analyst Sounds Off on Next Steps for Utah Jazz's Cody Williams

Originally posted on Utah Jazz on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated May 21, 2025 4:30 PM ET

It was nothing short of a bumpy season for the Utah Jazz's 10th-overall selection from last summer in Cody Williams.

From being in and out of the G League throughout the season, suffering lapses and growing pains in finding his fit on both ends of the floor, and encountering some overall shooting inconsistencies, the start to his NBA career began a bit slower than fans would have expected from him coming out of the draft.

However, it's not to say Williams' career is dead in the water. Far from it. Yet, it does inevitably make this coming offseason and upcoming second season critical for his future as a part of the Jazz's rebuild, and perhaps his NBA career entirely.

CBS Sports analyst Cameron Salerno dove into Williams' first season in the mix with the Jazz, and shared some thoughts on how the 20-year-old can see the arrow point up heading into his second year pro.

"Three rookies on the Utah Jazz played in at least 50 games this past season: Isaiah Collier, Kyle Filipowski and Williams," Salerno wrote. "The latter appeared in exactly 50, including 21 starts for Utah, but couldn't carve out a consistent role in the rotation. The 6-foot-7 wing is a rangy forward who will benefit tremendously from more summer league reps. Williams shot 32.3% from the field, 25.9% from 3 and 72.5% from the free-throw line. Utah's young core is getting crowded, so his second season in the NBA will be crucial for his long-term development."

Williams was already viewed project coming out of Colorado in last year's draft, so seeing him take some time to adjust to the NBA game is to be expected. Yet, there is still a ton of ground to make up in said project to get him to hone into a player that impacts winning basketball.

During his last season with the Jazz, he averaged just over 20 minutes a game to post 4.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists a night, paired with some underwhelming shooting splits.

The traits and the upside are still present, even with the lowlights he faced across his most recent sample size, but things need to start clicking fast in order to shift his career trajectory in the right direction. That's what makes his offseason of workouts, development, and Summer League showings so vital for what's to come in year two.

It's tough to write off Williams just yet, and especially so when seeing the NBA pedigree held within his brother taking on the massive stage of the conference finals with the Oklahoma City Thunder in this current postseason. But there's a lot of work ahead to find that high level of confidence in his future fit in Salt Lake City.