With Cody Williams and Isaiah Collier, the Jazz aced the NBA Draft’s first round

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz hoped one would be available. In no world did they anticipate the other being available. Put the two together, and the Jazz had one of the best first-round drafts in the NBA.

Utah used its lottery pick, the No. 10 selection, on Colorado forward Cody Williams, one of the guys in Wednesday’s draft who possesses significant upside. The Jazz used their second first-round pick on USC point guard Isaiah Collier, who was once projected to be taken in the lottery. And even though his stock regressed through the draft process, he was still expected to go somewhere in the top 20.

As the Jazz wade through their current rebuild, the draft has been a significant tool they have used. In the coming days, expect Utah to explore ways to improve the roster that finished near the bottom of the Western Conference. But the draft is the one thing the Jazz have control over, and on Wednesday, Utah came away with about as good a draft as it could have hoped for on paper.

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We examine why below, including a forecast of Thursday afternoon’s second round, in which Utah picks near the top. As the Jazz stock away young talent, how does it all fit? And what does Utah do next?

Divine intervention?

If the Jazz had somehow gotten lucky and won the lottery, Williams would have been firmly in the mix to be the No. 1 pick. Ultimately, he may not or even probably not have gotten the nod. But the fact that he would have been in consideration should tell you how interested the Jazz were in the small forward. They did a ton of pre-draft homework on him. They interviewed him at the NBA’s Draft Combine. They brought him in for a private workout. Jazz general manager Justin Zanik and head coach Will Hardy took him out to dinner.

As much as the physical talent and the upside, the Jazz were significantly impressed by the maturity Williams showed through the process. Those became some of the reasons Williams shot to the top of Utah’s draft board. The Jazz came into the draft thinking they would possibly have to move up to draft him. As it turns out, they didn’t have to go anywhere

A few things allowed their preferred selection to fall to them. The Detroit Pistons selected athletic small forward Ron Holland with the No. 5 pick, which pushed UConn center Donovan Clingan further down the board. At No. 8, the Minnesota Timberwolves leaped into the top 10 to take Kentucky point guard Rob Dillingham. Once that happened, the Memphis Grizzlies grabbed Purdue big man Zach Edey with the ninth pick.

“When we talked on Monday, I said that this draft was going to be unpredictable,” Zanik said. “There were a number of things and a number of scenarios going on. We tried to set up as much as we could before the draft in terms of our models and where players were projected. We got quite a few calls to trade up or down. But our modeling told us to stay put, and we’re thrilled with how the draft went.”

The Jazz know they have a lot of work to do with Williams. He needs to add a bunch of strength. Williams needs to learn to be more assertive when on the floor. But when you look at the 6-foot-8 frame, the length and the skill, it’s easy to see why the Jazz and others were intrigued.

In the words of Cody Williams,,, “look good, feel good” 💜🎵 pic.twitter.com/k7Pny96uL7

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) June 27, 2024

The hope is that Williams’ development mirrors or closely resembles the development of his older brother Jalen Williams, who has established himself as a star with the Oklahoma City Thunder. In terms of fit, the Jazz are a terrific one for Williams. Utah doesn’t have a natural small forward on its roster, which means Williams gives the Jazz exactly one natural small forward on the roster. Beyond that, Williams is a good shooter, he can make plays off the dribble, and he can pass and defend.

Jazz executives Danny Ainge and Zanik have long coveted size and positional length. Williams has to work on the size and the strength. But the length and athleticism both check needed boxes for the Jazz.

“He’s a true wing with NBA speed, talent and skill,” Zanik said Wednesday night. “He’s very young, and he has to work on his body. But he’s very mature for his age. It’s very easy to see the athletic talent and skill that he possesses.”

What we know

Collier has flaws in his game.

He doesn’t play without the basketball in his hands or move without the ball. He should be a better defender for his size and strength and athleticism. His jump shot is spotty. He’s had turnover issues in the past.

But he’s a dynamic talent. He and Rob Dillingham are probably the two best guards in the draft at getting downhill off the dribble. He’s a terrific passer. Collier lives in the lane off the dribble and creates significant rim pressure for opposing defenses. He’s a terrific competitor who doesn’t back down to opponents, and frankly, the Jazz need more of that.

The flaws come in multitudes, and how Collier navigates them will tell the story of how his NBA career goes. But there’s no way a guy of his overall talent level should have been on the board at No. 29. The Jazz metaphorically sprinted to the podium to take him, flaws and all. Collier probably instantly becomes Utah’s best and most dynamic passer, which just might be an indictment of the roster in its current form.

Expect the Jazz to continue to attempt to bolster the roster in free agency, simply because the roster can’t be one full of kids. And if that happens in the backcourt, you can expect Collier to spend a good chunk of time either in the G League or in a position to learn his craft at the NBA level. But there’s no denying the Jazz made one of the best value picks of the first round.

Collier was arguably the best high school basketball player in the country two years ago. He entered this season projected as a top-10 pick. Some of his fall through the first round was self-inflicted, particularly because scouts were a bit turned off by the lack of defense early in the college season. And then he got hurt. And then, USC struggled.

But Collier has a chance to thrive in the spacing the NBA provides. He’s going to get a chance to prove a lot of people wrong.

“You know how we like to play,” Zanik said. “(Hardy) says move the ball. Isaiah moves the ball, as does Cody. Having two guys who have the ability to connect is important. They have physical and skill profiles that can fit in the NBA.”

What’s next

In the days and weeks leading to the draft, the prevailing feeling was that Utah didn’t want to use all three of its picks, because the Jazz already had three rising second-year players and there were only so many young guys to fit on the roster.

But there’s so much value and so many good players still available heading into Thursday’s second round that the Jazz are excited about using pick No. 32. There is Kyle Filipowski from Duke. There is Tyler Kolek from Marquette. There is Tyler Smith, the big man out of G League Ignite. There is Johnny Furphy out of Kansas. Those are four players who had first-round grades who are all still available.

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Utah will still explore trade scenarios, perhaps exploring moving down and snaring a few more assets. But with so much talent remaining on the board, the Jazz are happy with the position they are in.

(Photo of Isaiah Collier: Wally Skalij / Getty Images)