Will Hardy Wants Jazz Rookie to Be More 'Reckless'

The Utah Jazz have given a ton of opportunity to their young talent across the 2024-25 campaign, and as expected, with that has come a few growing pains in the process.

Cody Williams, the Jazz's 10th-overall pick from last summer, has been no exception to that growth. He's had a bit of a bumpy rookie season to start on both ends of the floor, but continues to have the support of his surrounding coaching staff –– especially from head coach Will Hardy.

Following the All-Star Break, Coach Hardy has increasingly handed more responsibility to Williams in order to work through the motions of his rookie season. Of course, it'll be far from a perfect process for any first-year player, but it's clear seeing those ups and downs are all a part of the development plan from the Jazz brass.

After the Jazz's latest showing vs. the Chicago Bulls, which ended in a 97-111 loss, Hardy spoke about a bit of his expectations revolving around Williams down the stretch of this season, voicing one main trait he wants to see out of his rookie: recklessness.

"I want him to be 10 to 20 percent more reckless," Hardy said. "I want him to be assertive. I want him to be a little bit more demonstrative. I want him to not overthink whether he's making the perfect play. I think Cody's a very cerebral player, and he's a good decision-maker, but I think, sometimes, that leaves him in-between, because he's trying to make the perfect read. I want him to be a little bit more reckless."

It's an interesting approach from Hardy, but one to surely work through the trials and tribulations Williams will face through the early motions of his career. By giving the Colorado product an extended leash with more room for error, it allows for more comfort and reps to come Williams' way, and hopefully, in turn, lead to strides forwards on both ends of the floor.

Williams hasn't quite been on fire for his first season –– averaging 4.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, shooting 34.1% from the field in just over 20 minutes a night, but it's a long road of development. Coach Hardy's aware of the hiccups to come, but those aggressive efforts to progress don't affect him.

"With that is going to come some mistakes, it's going to bring a few plays that are going to be loud and ugly, but that doesn't bother me," Hardy continued. "It's about Cody developing the confidence to make a play that's maybe a little bit off-script. If we can continue to help him build that, then it'll be a success. I think that Cody, on Cody's most reckless day, is not going to be a reckless player... but I want to try and help free him up some."

The Jazz have Williams' back throughout a year that hasn't been as seamless of a transition as one would hope, but it makes for a bit more optimism of what's to come from his career moving forward. In the meantime, Hardy is allowing his rookie to lock in on his aggressiveness and recklessnesss, letting the mistakes flow.

Following a positive final 15-game stretch to build on and an offseason of growth ahead, the 2024 lottery pick has the chance enter his sophomore campaign on a high note, ready to leap into a strong year two.

As a long-term piece of the Jazz's rebuild, Williams still sticks out with a nice ceiling, but it may some more time to reach that mark.

Follow Utah Jazz On SI on Facebook and Twitter/X and Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live streams!

Recommended Articles