With Cody Williams and Isaiah Collier, the Jazz won the first round of the NBA draft

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz were hoping one would be available. He did not expect the other to be available in any world. Put the two together, and the Jazz had one of the best first-round draft picks in the NBA.

Utah used its lottery pick, the No. 10 selection, on Colorado forward Cody Williams, who is one of the guys in Wednesday’s draft who has significant upside. The Jazz used their second first-round pick on USC point guard Isaiah Collier, who was once projected to be a lottery pick. And even if his stock dropped back through the draft process, he was still expected to go in the top 20.

As the Jazz go through their current rebuild, the draft has been a key tool they have utilized. In the coming days, expect Utah to look for ways to improve a roster that finished bottom of the Western Conference. But the draft is something the Jazz have control over, and on Wednesday, Utah came up with as good a draft as they expected on paper.

We’re checking it out below, including Thursday afternoon’s second-round forecast, which has Utah on top. Since there is so much young talent in jazz, how does it all fit in? And what does Utah do next?

divine intervention?

If the Jazz had somehow been lucky and won the lottery, Williams would have been firmly in contention to be the No. 1 pick. After all, it may or may not have been approved. But the fact they considered it should tell you how much interest the Jazz had in the small forward. They did a lot of pre-draft homework on him. They interviewed him at the NBA Draft Combine. They brought him in for personal exercise. Jazz general manager Justin Zanik and head coach Will Hardy took him out to dinner.

In addition to physical talent and talent, the Jazz were impressed by the maturity shown by Williams during the process. These were some of the reasons Williams rose to the top of Utah’s draft board. The Jazz came into the draft thinking they would probably have to move up to draft him. As it turns out, they didn’t need to go anywhere

Some things let their choice of choice depend on them. The Detroit Pistons selected athletic small forward Ron Holland with the No. 5 pick, pushing UConn center Donovan Clingan further down the board. At No. 8, Minnesota Timberwolves running back Kentucky point guard Rob Dillingham jumped into the top 10. Once that happened, the Memphis Grizzlies grabbed Purdue big man Zack Eddy with the ninth pick.

“When we talked on Monday, I said this draft was going to be unpredictable,” Zanik said. “There were a lot of things going on and a lot of scenarios. We tried to prepare as much as we could before the draft in terms of our models and where players were projected. We got a lot of calls to trade up or down. But our modeling told us to stay, and we’re thrilled with how the draft went.”

The Jazz know they have a lot of work to do with Williams. He needs to add a lot of strength. Williams needs to learn to be more assertive when he is on the field. But when you look at his 6-foot-8 frame, length and skill, it’s easy to see why the Jazz and others were interested in him.

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The hope is that Williams’ development mirrors or resembles the development of his older brother, Jalen Williams, who has established himself as a star with the Oklahoma City Thunder. In terms of fit, the Jazz are great for Williams. Utah has no natural small forward on its roster, meaning Williams gives the Jazz exactly one natural small forward on the roster. In addition, Williams is a good shooter, he can make plays off the dribble, and he can pass and defend.

Jazz executives Danny Ainge and Zanik have long loved the coveted size and positional length. Williams needs to work on size and strength. But both length and athleticism check off the necessary boxes for the Jazz.

“He’s a true wing with NBA speed, talent and skill,” Zanik said Wednesday night. “He is very young, and he needs to work on his body. But he is very mature for his age. It is very easy to see the athletic talent and skills that he possesses.

what do we know

Collier’s game has flaws.

He doesn’t play without a basketball in his hands or move without the ball. Due to his size, strength and athleticism, he should be a superior defender. His jump shot is spotty. They have had turnover issues in the past.

But he is a dynamic talent. He and Rob Dillingham are probably the two best defenders coming off the dribble in the draft. He is an excellent passer. Collier stays in the lane off the dribble and creates significant rim pressure for the opposing defense. He’s a tremendous competitor who doesn’t back down from opponents, and frankly, the Jazz need more of that.

There are plenty of flaws, and how Collier overcomes them will tell the story of how his NBA career goes. But there’s no way a guy of his overall talent level should have been on the board at No. 29. Jazz metaphorically climbed up to the podium to collect him, flaws and all. Collier perhaps immediately becomes Utah’s best and most dynamic passer, which may be an indictment of the roster in its current form.

Expect the Jazz to continue trying to strengthen the roster in free agency, simply because the roster can’t be filled with kids. And if that happens in the backcourt, you can expect Collier to spend a good amount of time learning his craft in the G League or at the NBA level. But it can’t be denied that the Jazz made one of the best-value selections in the first round.

Two years ago Collier was arguably the best high school basketball player in the country. He entered this season as a top-10 pick. Some of their losses in the first round were self-inflicted, especially because scouts became a bit disappointed with their lack of defense early in the college season. And then he got hurt. And again, USC struggled.

But Collier has a chance to step up in the vacancy provided by the NBA. He is going to get a chance to prove many people wrong.

“You know how we like to play,” Zanik said. “(Hardy) says move the ball. Isaiah moves the ball, as does Cody. It’s important to have two people who have the ability to connect. He has the physical and skill profile that could fit in the NBA.

what will happen next

In the days and weeks leading up to the draft, the prevailing sentiment was that Utah did not want to use all three of their picks, as the Jazz already had three rising second-year players and only so many young players to fit. Roaster.

But there’s still so much value and so many good players available for Thursday’s second round that the Jazz are excited to use pick No. 32. Kyle Filipowski is from Duke. Tyler Kolek is from Marquette. G League Ignite’s big man is Tyler Smith. There’s Johnny Furfee out of Kansas. Those are four players who had first-round grades and they are all still available.

Utah will still explore trade scenarios, perhaps looking to move down and acquire some more assets. But with so much talent remaining on the board, the Jazz are happy with their situation.

(Photo of Isaiah Collier: Wally Scalise/Getty Images)