I think he’s fine….but my concern is that all he can do is score. He’s a TJ Warren type prospect for me. It wouldn’t surprise me if he eventually develops into a decent scorer like TJ and that has value…but he doesn’t offer much else. The scoring I see, but like yourself I don’t see any peripheral skills. As was the case at Colorado, he may be able to score efficiently in the NBA but without a major impact. I like Cody for his ability to get to the hoop and finish….but if you like him because there’s a 10% chance he’s Shai you’re out of your mind.
I will say…this Shai stuff makes me roll my eyes. Used to be Kawhi, now it’s Shai. It’s one of the dumbest things we do. It is not convincing and has the opposite effect as intended.
Also, I don’t really care if Cody was seen as number one at some point. There’s like 5+ guys who were seen as potential number one at some point.
Shall I take a moment and explain to you and Cy what a '10% probability' means? It means that it's possible, but also very unlikely.
There. You're welcome. It's not the same as categorically proclaiming that Cody is the next SGA.
NBA teams are trying to project the futures of young, raw players. They're dealing with different degrees of uncertainty and probability. They're making investments based on perceived risk and reward. If Cody Williams becomes an All Star, it will be because he's a long, skilled, high-impact, two-way guard. If he doesn't become an All Star, he can still provide value as a defender, ball mover and somewhat versatile scorer.
If you compare him to a player like, say, Stephon Castle, there might be a 10% chance that Castle develops into a hard-nosed, two-way wing like Jimmy Butler. However, that outcome is also very unlikely, and meanwhile there's a solid chance (40%, 50% ??) that Castle never becomes a reliable enough shooter to play starter minutes. Nonetheless, there are plenty of people who think Castle is worth a top 5 or 6 pick in this draft.
At the end of the day, teams drafting in the top 10 are probably drafting for upside. Cody looks to have as much upside as just about anyone in this draft. Someone is about to draft Tidjane Salaun based on his perceived upside as well, when Salaun hasn't actually done much if anything that Kevin Knox can't do. Such is life, when you're chasing upside.
