How bad/good is Cody Williams?

[The Thriller]

I mean, first of all, the league is NOT "absolutely flooded with long athletic players who can shoot 3s and play defense." Those guys are really, really rare and valuable. So much so that you need to take crazy risks to obtain them for your team.

So much so that the Jazz have spent their top pick in the last 3 drafts chasing one. If we get one to pop, it might have been worth it. If two pop, it was a tremendous success.

Jujang was better than Cody and he wasn’t even drafted. I guess the point is, “finding great wings is hard.” Because finding wings who can defend and shoot 3s is arguably the easiest position to fill right now. So much so that we found one last year who wasn’t even drafted.

 

[framer]

Jujang was better than Cody and he wasn’t even drafted. I guess the point is, “finding great wings is hard.” Because finding wings who can defend and shoot 3s is arguably the easiest position to fill right now. So much so that we found one last year who wasn’t even drafted.

Juzang is 4 years older than Cody and his one NBA skill is shooting. He hit 3s at a 36% rate last year. He is not overly long and he's not especially good on Defense.

If 4 years from now Cody Williams is not better than Johnny Juzang (who as a fringe NBA player, is STILL an NBA player) then yeah, the Jazz should move on.

 

[cctrackstar]

he was always a project, it's not like anyone expected him to be good right away, if he was with those measurables he would have gone top 3. remember, our team has a history of good player development, have some patience and remember, if he comes off the bench for ten years he is still a success for his draft position. drafting potential is always a coin flip, and sometimes it comes tails.

think about this, his measurables are about the same as Ace, but ace went fifth, should have gone third, all because he had the strength and the intangibles (drive, motor, shot). if cody gets what he's missing, he's basically Ace, but he may not.

 

[HadAnEffectHere]

he was always a project, it's not like anyone expected him to be good right away, if he was with those measurables he would have gone top 3. remember, our team has a history of good player development, have some patience and remember, if he comes off the bench for ten years he is still a success for his draft position. drafting potential is always a coin flip, and sometimes it comes tails.

think about this, his measurables are about the same as Ace, but ace went fifth, should have gone third, all because he had the strength and the intangibles (drive, motor, shot). if cody gets what he's missing, he's basically Ace, but he may not.

Ace and Cody are nothing alike. Cody's entire appeal was that he was smart (he played PG in high school) and could dribble a bit and had a good finishing package. He was a terrible athlete and incredibly thin and had a broken jumpshot and could not defend at all due to how unathletic and weak he was. The idea was that as his weight increased, hopefully his athleticism would increase as well. He's been even worse than expected though and seems to have no toughness or drive and doesn't seem to be improving.

Ace has elite shooting talent and explosion and lateral quickness while struggling to create good shots and to make good decisions. We will see how he develops.

 

[George W]

When your summer league team closely resembles your actual regular season team, ain't no chance the Jazz lose next year's pick.

I know I'm making a fool of myself with all of this homerism but I think we are one "PG who can drive against a press and not turn the ball over" away from competing for the play-in

- George

 

[r_u_s_t_b_u_c_k_e_t]

... If 4 years from now Cody Williams is not better than Johnny Juzang (who as a fringe NBA player, is STILL an NBA player) then yeah, the Jazz should move on.

we have to wait 4 years to see if he can become better than a player that we just waived?

 

[infection]

I know I'm making a fool of myself with all of this homerism but I think we are one "PG who can drive against a press and not turn the ball over" away from competing for the play-in

- George

Well then I guess the biggest priority of this offseason is making sure we don't obtain a "PG who can drive against a press and not turn the ball over."

 

[NAOS_pt2]

I know I'm making a fool of myself with all of this homerism but I think we are one "PG who can drive against a press and not turn the ball over" away from competing for the play-in

- George

I need to see much better connective passing before I can get my serious homer on.

 

[LogGrad98]

The gist of this thread is "if Cody can just become a completely different player, you know, the player we all wished he was at the outset, the guy that does all the things that he doesn't, and with a better body than he has now, and better reach, and better skills. I mean, that's all he needs, just become a completely different player from one season to the next, then we will have something."

Yep.

So he put on 20 pounds of skeleton or something I guess. Is he captain America yet? Did he revamp his entire person to become super-basketball-guy? Is he the emerging "next MJ"? Is he even as good as CJ "next MJ" Miles?

 

[framer]

Well then I guess the biggest priority of this offseason is making sure we don't obtain a "PG who can drive against a press and not turn the ball over."

I'm assuming that at least part of that 26 million dollar trade exception we just generated us going toward a point guard next off-season. It is our most glaring need and we only have late draft choices manning it. I suspect the youngsters are competing for the backup role ultimately.

 

[framer]

we have to wait 4 years to see if he can become better than a player that we just waived?

I don't know, I figure we should give him more than one year when we have Juzang 3, but that is just me I guess. . .

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

I think Cody has the ability to be a 3D wing. The biggest issue is that his effort level is inconsistent. He gives off the vibe of someone who doesn't really like basketball that much. There's no joy when he plays. He almost never smiles or gets excited or pumped up. The difference in body language between GG Jackson and Cody Williams is night and day.

If his career ends early, it will be due to apathy.

 

[framer]

I think Cody has the ability to be a 3D wing. The biggest issue is that his effort level is inconsistent. He gives off the vibe of someone who doesn't really like basketball that much. There's no joy when he plays. He almost never smiles or gets excited or pumped up. The difference in body language between GG Jackson and Cody Williams is night and day.

If his career ends early, it will be due to apathy.

I actually think he cares but he is more of a fear of failure guy than a celebrate succes dude. I'm kind of the same way. When things go bad for an extended period, it is not a great place to be.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

I think Cody has the ability to be a 3D wing.

From biology:

"Wastebasket taxon is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined by either designated members' often superficial similarity to each other, or their lack of one or more distinct character states or by their not belonging to one or more other taxa."

"3D wing" has become the basketball version of a wastebasket taxon. Whenever a forward type comes into the league without discernible ball skills but possessing of some vaguely promising physical attributes, they get dumped into the "He could be a 3D wing!" category.

You don't actually have to be a talented shooter or hard-nosed defender to earn that moniker – I mean, once you're a high pick and in the NBA, you should ideally be doing something to earn your humongous salary. At least in theory. And that's where "3D wing" comes in.

Once the idea of you being a 3D wing has taken root in the babble of announcers and the columns of beat reporters, all you have to do is hang out on the perimeter, put up a shot now and then and look somewhat alive on the other side of the ball. That's it.