3 Jazz Players Due for More Minutes After Vince Williams Injury

The Utah Jazz might have lost another piece of their rotation for some extended time in the form of guard Vince Williams Jr., who went down with a knee injury during their latest game vs. the Houston Rockets for what's reportedly expected to be a significant ACL injury.

Williams, who was brought aboard the Jazz as a part of the Jaren Jackson Jr. deadline deal, has been a nice spark on the defensive end while providing a bit of depth in the backcourt as well. He was averaging over 15 minutes a night in his five games played, averaging 4.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists on 35.7% from the field

If an ACL injury is indeed the diagnosis, Utah and head coach Will Hardy will be bound to make some shifts to their rotation for the final few weeks of the year. Some players in the mix will inevtiably see an uptick in their playing time, thus allowing them to finish off the 2025-26 season on a high note.

With that in mind, here are three guys on the Jazz roster who could see expanded playing time if Williams Jr. is out for multiple games.

1. Isaiah Collier

Feb 23, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Utah Jazz guard Isaiah Collier (8) looses the ball as he drives to the net against Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) in the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Considering the Jazz are so slim at the guard position due to a combination of injuries and deadline moves, with Williams now going down means that Isaiah Collier will only be getting more run moving forward.

During his past nine games on the year, Collier has played an impressive 34.4 minutes a night while racking up numbers on the stat sheet in the process–– averaging 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.4 steals a night in that same time span.

Once Keyonte George is deemed healthy and back in the lineup, those minutes might see a slight tick down. But considering how slim Utah's depth is in the backcourt as it is, giving more tick to Collier as an offensive generator for the second unit makes a ton of sense.

2. John Konchar

Feb 20, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Utah Jazz guard John Konchar (55) and guard Vince Williams Jr. (0) walk to the bench during the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The other incoming piece next to Williams Jr. as a part of the Jazz's deadline blockbuster for Jaren Jackson Jr., John Konchar is bound to see a bit more run himself as the backcourt rotation becomes thinner.

Konchar isn't exactly a guy who can play the one-and-run the Jazz's offense, and he's had some streaky shooting since coming in at the deadline. He's playing 22 minutes a night while averaging 3.5 points on 7.7% shooting from three. But despite the rocky start, there's now a great opportunity for him to take advantage of minutes being freed up and turn things around before the end of the year.

Especially as the Jazz enter this offseason likely to make a few moves around the edges of their roster, getting a bigger sample size from Konchar to see exactly how he fits in for the future could be a great way to utilize his next 20-plus games for the season.

3. Elijah Harkless

Nov 18, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) dribbles the ball against Utah Jazz guard Elijah Harkless (16) in the fourth quarter at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Could one of the Jazz's two-way signees be slated for some added run too? It'd be hard to see Elijah Harkless not get a look from Will Hardy in the final few weeks of the year as someone to help fill out the guard rotation.

Harkless has played nine games on the year so far, with only two of those coming during the month of February in a combined 21 minutes on the floor. But when looking at his potential fit in the rotation in the final few weeks of the year, a potential fit as a backup guard with his defensive-minded skillset is something the Jazz could certainly use as they're ranked dead last in the league for defensive rating.

Similarly to Konchar, getting an expanded sample size from Harkless before entering this offseason––especially as Harkless will hit free agency––surveying to see if he can be a fit on next year's roster will be worth handing some extra minutes his way.