The Utah Jazz may have moved on from Cody Williams, but the 2024 NBA Draft keeps offering reminders that this was never a clean exercise in talent evaluation. Atlanta’s decision to waive Devin Carter only adds to that picture.
The Hawks are waiving former lottery pick Devin Carter, according to league sources.
- Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) September 11, 2026
Carter went three picks after Williams, and that matters because it underscores just how murky that draft class looked two years ago. Williams was always seen as a project, and Utah understood development would take time. He did start to show some signs of growth, but it wasn’t enough for the Jazz to keep investing in him.
That doesn’t mean every player taken after him was a miss. Matas Buzelis has clearly turned into a better outcome, and there are others who have separated themselves as well.
Still, at the time, there was no obvious answer sitting there waiting to be taken. That’s the reality of the class: a lot of uncertainty, a few bright spots, and plenty of swings that didn’t land cleanly.
There were some top-end names who looked the part right away, including Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, and Zach Edey. But the deeper you got into the lottery, the harder it became to feel confident about any one direction. Zacharie Risacher is already on a new team, Reed Sheppard looks like a perfectly adequate sixth man, Ron Holland is meh, Rob Dillingham is also on a new team, and does anyone know who Tidjane Salaun is?
That’s why the Jazz taking heat for not picking a lane early feels a little different in hindsight. Sure, people will always question whether they should have committed harder one way or another, but the class itself didn’t exactly hand out can’t-miss answers.
Utah’s other two picks, at least, gave them something tangible. Isaiah Collier, taken late in the first round, and Kyle Filipowski, selected early in the second, both turned into reasonably productive players.
Neither is projecting as a star, and after Williams was traded, Utah’s long-term plan with them is fair to question. But for where they were drafted, and considering how uneven this class has been overall, the Jazz can feel pretty good about landing them.
Williams wasn’t expected to be the name on the move, but his lack of traction, combined with Utah’s win-now push and their preference for players who are ready sooner, led to him being moved out. Carter getting waived doesn’t erase Williams’ struggles. It does make the Jazz’s decision look a lot more defensible.
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