Jazz rookie Cody Williams can do a little bit of everything

LAS VEGAS — A number of Utah Jazz players have come to Las Vegas to watch the Summer League squad in action. Collin Sexton, John Collins, Keyonte George, Walker Kessler and Johnny Juzang have attended at least one of the first two Jazz summer league games, and there’s one player that has brought them to their feet or put a smile on their face with regularity — Cody Williams .

The No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 draft, Williams was largely quiet during the Salt Lake City Summer League but has come alive in Las Vegas. He’s scored in a number of ways — dunks, alley-oops, off the dribble, on catch-and-shoot opportunities and pull-ups in the mid range — and has shown that despite his slender frame, he’s ready for the physicality of the NBA.

Williams scored 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including going 3-of-6 from deep while dishing out four assists and grabbing three rebounds on Saturday night. He followed that performance with a 14-point outing Monday, going 6-of-11 from the field with two blocks and a steal.

What stands out, and has Jazz CEO Danny Ainge smiling after these summer showcases, isn’t just that Williams is finding ways to score, but how much Williams does in every other aspect of the game. He can be used as a screener, he can initiate offense, he can come off screens, he’s a great cutter, he doesn’t get sped up or overreact to any one play.

He seems to do a little bit of everything, which already has Jazz assistant coach Sean Sheldon thinking about the 2024-25 NBA season.

“His versatility is going to be key for us moving forward into the coming season,” Sheldon said. “We can put the ball in his hands, put him off-ball, he’s great in transition, he can knock down and catch and shoot threes. So we’ve just got to keep working with him and developing to get him comfortable in all those different situations.”

An unfortunately unintended consequence of Williams looking so comfortable already, is how much farther away Taylor Hendricks has looked. The second-year player is still just 20 years old, and although there have been flashes of the defensive potential that earned him the No. 9 overall pick in 2023, a bit more has been expected after having played through the G League and heavy NBA minutes at the end of last season.

There’s no denying the potential and instincts of Hendricks and the Jazz still have hope that he’ll be a late bloomer as far as his feel for the game, but there is an obvious and stark difference in how comfortable Williams feels on the court in comparison.

While Williams looks in control with the ball in his hands and has great timing around the court, Hendricks struggles with the ball in his hands and has been stuck in the corners more often than not. And even when Hendricks has looked at his best it’s been after some other defensive breakdowns when he comes over for weakside blocks.

These comparisons aren’t made willy-nilly. The two could be competing for minutes. Hendricks is positionally a three or four (though he has said publicly he’s more of a three), but if he continues to struggle offensively and can only be trusted as a spot-up shooter, it could leave the door open for the rookie Williams to lead ahead of him in the rotation.

Sheldon is hopeful that throughout the rest of summer league play he can work to get Hendricks more involved so he can gain some confidence.

“I think you can try to get him out of the corners a little bit more,” Sheldon said. “A really easy way for a lot of guys to try to get involved is just offensive rebounding. It’s a good way to get yourself a rebound, try to get an easy one at the rim. You see one go in and then kind of get rolling a little bit.”

Conversely, it seems that every situation the Jazz put Williams in, he finds a way to settle in throughout the course of a single game, which is a promising early sign for the rookie.

“Cody’s gonna be real good,” teammate and fellow rookie Isaiah Collier said. “He’s real special — 6-foot-8 with that kind of length. For sure, Cody’s gonna be real good.”