What Makes Cody Williams's Potential Exciting for Timberwolves

The 21-year-old arrives in Minnesota looking to change the narrative of his career.

It will be interesting to see what kind of player Cody Williams can become now that he's with the Timberwolves. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When the Timberwolves traded Josh Green to the Utah Jazz last week, the largest benefit of the trade for Minnesota was reducing salary. The Wolves received $2 million less than they gave up, which gave them the necessary space below the second apron to sign Jonathan Kuminga.

In the deal, they got back John Konchar, whom they waived and stretched to create further financial flexibility, and the former tenth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Cody Williams, who has struggled to find his footing as an NBA player through his first two seasons.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are trading Josh Green and cash to the Utah Jazz for Cody Williams and John Konchar, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/9mZTm4amkH

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 29, 2026

In his rookie season, Williams averaged just 4.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He shot 32.3% from the field, the lowest among any player with at least 100 attempts. Williams took more than half of his shot attempts from three and made only 25.9%.

Last season, Williams fixed his shot diet, taking about a quarter of his shots from beyond the arc while increasing both his two-point attempts and efficiency, increasing his scoring output to 8.8 points per game on a much more manageable 46.8 FG%.

Among the top 10 picks in the 2024 draft, only two players put up negative win shares, a statistic how many wins a player has contributed to his team. Those two players are Williams and Timberwolves draftee Rob Dillingham.

Despite his poor play, the Timberwolves chose to keep Williams over Konchar for a few reasons, but mainly because of his potential upside as a former top prospect coming from the University of Colorado.

Williams is a 6-foot-8 athletic wing with a long wingspan and the ability to be a solid inside-the-arc scorer in the NBA. His defensive ability so far in his career has not shown to be a standout quality, but it could develop into a strength with more experience.

Cody Williams could be the Timberwolves' next Nickeil Alexander-Walker

The numbers don't paint a pretty picture for Williams, but his NBA journey so far in his career is reminiscent of a former Timberwolves success story: Nickeil Alexander-Walker. NAW had multiple inefficient seasons with the Pelicans and the Jazz before being a throw-in part of the D'Angelo Russell-Mike Conley trade.

Timberwolves fans could get flashbacks of Nickeil Alexander-Walker depending on what Cody Williams does this season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Once Alexander-Walker arrived in Minnesota and away from his previous teams, which were largely trying to lose games, his game flourished. He became an invaluable player on back-to-back Western Conference Finals teams before winning the Most Improved Player award with the Hawks this past season.

Williams has a similar opportunity to change the narrative of his career. So far, Williams has played for a Jazz team that intentionally tried to lose games, making it extremely difficult for any young player to prove they can win, too.

Coming to Minnesota will be a bit like whiplash for Williams. The Timberwolves are fighting to win the championship this season. The amount of talent on the floor with Williams, if he sees any rotation minutes, will be significantly greater than anything he's seen so far in his career.

Motivation will be key

That is the main reason for hope with Williams coming to the Timberwolves. He has the size and athleticism to be a quality NBA player, but the Jazz put him in a tough spot that prevented Williams from showcasing his true talent.

Williams' role with the Wolves will be completely different from what it was in Utah. Williams played a total of 117 games with the Jazz and started in 62 of them, averaging 23 minutes per game. All of those numbers will go down precipitously next season.

The Timberwolves have one of the best starting fives in the NBA and a deep bench rotation. The playing time is likely to be limited, but that may not be the worst thing for Williams. The pressure to live up to his draft position is gone, and Williams can not focus on improving his game behind the scenes.

The upcoming training camp will be incredibly important for Williams. If he can prove that there is more to his game than what is on film, the Timberwolves may have found another diamond in the rough, as they did a few years back with Alexander-Walker.

If Williams underwhelms, though, his time in Minnesota and the NBA at large will be short.

Get Timberwolves On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.