If you’re finding it difficult to pinpoint Colorado wing Cody Williams‘s draft range, you’re not alone.
Williams “has interest from teams in the top 10″ of the 2024 NBA Draft, including the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, and Utah Jazz, per ESPN’s Jeremy Woo. “There are also teams picking outside the lottery that remain curious whether he might fall to them” as well.
Colorado’s Cody Williams Has Several Suitors In Lottery
Williams is largely considered to be a 3-and-D prospect. In 2023-24, he averaged 11.9 points and 0.6 steals per game, shooting 55.2 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from 3. Though his volume isn’t anything to call home about, his efficiency was spectacular. That said, in a nine-game stretch from late November to late January, Williams averaged 17.6 points and 1.0 steal per game while shooting 61.9 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from 3
Of course, the results of small sample sizes should be taken with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, those flashes are largely what led to him being considered a lottery prospect. His production was impressive, and he looked capable of handling a large offensive load due to his scoring versatility. To that point, a 3-and-D player is inherently valuable, but players with the volition and ability to take matters into their own hands are even more so. While the jury is still out on whether Williams can be a featured scorer, he certainly looked the part. At least for a while.
Putting Cody Williams on the Kawhi Leonard Plan
Rebuilding teams like the Pistons, Hornets, Blazers, Spurs, and Jazz should have a lot of interest in Williams. Each of them needs his 3-point prowess. A couple, like the Hornets and Jazz, also need to shore up a position group.
In any case, among this quintet, San Antonio is the best fit for him. He’d likely do well with Utah or Charlotte, as they’ll give him the developmental minutes that he needs. Nonetheless, the Spurs should select Williams for one of the main reasons they drafted Victor Wembanyama; they already have a blueprint for him.
When Kawhi Leonard landed with San Antonio in 2011, he was seen as an elite defensive prospect with scoring upside. However, when he entered the NBA, he only had to focus on one end because the Spurs already had three of the best offensive players in the league. Yet, the Spurs’ dynasty was getting long in the tooth. As a result, he began taking more responsibility on the offensive end. In his fifth season, he began averaging 20-plus points per game. In fact, Leonard has averaged 24.4 points per game over his past eight seasons. Masterful in the midrange, his footwork, shooting touch, and technique have led to him becoming one of the game’s elite scorers.
The Spurs are a patient organization, and that could serve them well with Williams as they look to uncover buried treasure. That isn’t to say that the 19-year-old will turn out like Leonard. No matter what San Antonio does, that may not happen. Nonetheless, Williams’s ceiling is somewhere between his brother’s and Leonard’s. Interestingly, Jalen Williams has been compared to the two-time Finals MVP as well.
