The Utah Jazz had a practical reason to move on from Cody Williams. With so many players already in front of him, finding minutes was never going to be simple.
On the surface, it made sense. But the deal also brings back the same old ache for what the Jazz passed on in the 2024 NBA Draft: Matas Buzelis.
That choice has not gotten easier to swallow. The 2024 class was not especially strong, but Buzelis still looks like the kind of player Utah could use right now.
His value goes beyond upside. He brings the kind of defensive presence this roster still needs, especially on a team whose defense remains questionable until further notice.
Buzelis has already flashed the traits that make him so appealing. He’s one of the best rim protecting wings in the NBA, with strong shot-blocking instincts and the length to bother shooters. He’s especially effective as the low man and on weakside cleanup work, and there’s still plenty of room for his defensive ceiling to grow.
The Jazz do have some defensive pieces in place. Jaren Jackson Jr., Josh Okogie, and Josh Green give them a bit of a foundation, though Green would not even be on the roster without Williams in the first place.
Even so, Buzelis would have fit cleanly into that group. His rim protection alone would have been valuable, and his offense would have only added to the appeal.
Maybe the rotation would have been tricky to sort out. But based on what Buzelis can do now - and what Williams could not - it is hard not to look at No. 10 and think Utah would have been better off taking him.
That said, no front office bats a thousand. The 2024 draft was weak overall, and Chicago getting Buzelis looks more like a lucky break for them than a crushing failure for Utah. Since Danny Ainge took over, the Jazz have had some unusual draft moments, but they have also landed a few real steals over the last four years.
Misses happen. Utah knows that better than most.
The Dante Exum years were rough, even if injuries played the biggest role. Looking back, it still stings that Marcus Smart was there for the taking.
And plenty of teams are still wondering how they let Keyonte George slip through. Kyle Filipowski’s slide also looks stranger by the day, given how NBA-ready he has looked.
So this is less a disaster than a familiar regret. Buzelis would have been a strong piece for Utah’s young core, and the idea of pairing him with their promising youth movement is easy to like.
Still, nobody in Salt Lake has a problem with Ace Bailey being their most promising wing. It just would have been nice to have two.
In Other News...
Keyonte George Just Gave The Jazz A Tough Contract Question
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The timing matters, too. Draft classmate Amen Thompson just landed a five-year extension with the Rockets, a development that could shape how the Jazz view Georges value and leverage as they sort through their own negotiations. Talks can continue until the October 19 deadline for rookie-scale extensions, so there is still time for both sides to find common ground, but the longer this stretches out, the more it becomes a decision about how Utah wants to define its future. [Read more 🡒]
Jazz Just Got A New Sign Of League-Wide Respect
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Those newly added NBA TV matchups come against the Lakers on Nov. 23 and the Thunder on Jan. 15, adding to a national schedule that now stretches across NBC, NBA TV, ESPN and Prime. For a team trying to keep building relevance beyond its own market, that kind of exposure is the sort of detail that tends to follow real momentum. [Read more 🡒]
Jazz Still Have One Obvious Hole In Their New Center Rotation
The Jazzs new look in the middle has already become one of the quieter pressure points in the wake of the Walker Kessler trade to the Lakers. For now, Utah is piecing together its center rotation with Jusuf Nurkic and Jaxson Hayes, a workable stopgap on paper but one that leaves a different feel than the steady rim protection and rebounding Kessler brought.
That is why Brook Lopez keeps coming up in the conversation as a possible addition. He would give Utah the kind of floor spacing and interior defense that fits a modern frontcourt, but even he would not fully cover every part of the Kessler loss, especially on the glass. With the Clippers weighing ways to reshape their roster and potentially chase draft capital, Lopez sits in the middle of a situation that could affect more than one team before Utahs frontcourt picture is settled. [Read more 🡒]