I'm not one to look back in the world of professional sports. I think it's counterproductive. It's a needless distraction. It's mental fluff to distract you from the important decisions confronting you. In that same vein, the Utah Jazz should have no regrets over trading away former lottery pick Cody Williams before his third NBA season.

Williams was taken in the infamous 2024 NBA Draft, where Zaccahrie Risacher was selected first overall, Reed Sheppard came off the board third, and Tidjane Salaun was viewed as perhaps the best French player in a draft that included Alex Sarr, who is arguably one of maybe two or three undeniably good prospects taken in the first round.

It was a rough class, and Cody Williams likely doesn't come off the board in the top 10 in a typical draft class. For example, consider this most recent class with a few very promising talents populating the top of the order (Dybansa, Peterson, Boozer, and Wilson).

Brayden Burries was taken 10th overall as a freshman at Arizona and he looks like the early steal of the draft.

Yaxel Lendeborg came off the board 11th and is one of the more sure-thing success prospects in the class.

Aday Mara was the 12th pick, and he's being advertised as Oklahoma City's answer for Victor Wembanyama after a playoff series that left Chet Holmgren humiliated and emasculated.

Cody Williams would have been picked after any of these players, no questions asked.

But when Williams was included in a trade for bench scorer Josh Green, Williams supporters like myself couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. What if he becomes the player Utah hoped he could? What if he develops into an athletic freak and the reincarnation of his older brother, Jalen?

These fears will nag at me, of course, but I wouldn't put too much stock in Williams just because he's enjoying a change of scenery.

After all, he hardly improved from his rookie to sophomore years in Utah.

21.6 minutes

4.6 points

1.2 assists

2.3 rebounds

0.5 steals

0.3 blocks

0.9 turnovers

32.3% FG

25.9% 3PT

24.3 minutes (+2.7)

8.8 points (+4.2)

2.0 assists (+0.8)

3.0 rebounds (+0.7)

0.8 steals (+0.3)

0.4 blocks (+0.1)

1.1 turnovers (+0.2)

46.8% FG (+14.5%)

21.4% 3PT (-4.5%)

Yes, he increased his numbers nearly across the board from Year 1 to Year 2, but there's more to the story than the raw numbers alone.

William's second season was one where the Jazz pushed so hard to lose basketball games that they were fined half a million dollars by the NBA. He saw more floor time because they wanted to lose basketball games -- and lose they did.

His defensive numbers improved only marginally, and his shooting spilts were baffling.

As a three-point shooter, he dipped to a putrid 21.4%. His field goal percentage increased thanks to better shot selection (dunks over mid-range jumpers), but he still had shown little to no improvement as an on-ball scorer outside of cuts to the rim.

Don't stress over potential growth -- the Jazz traded Williams with knowledge that no other organization had by watching him in practice. In games. During the Summer League and in the G League. Cody Williams isn't a star, and he didn't yield a star in return when traded from the Jazz.

Relax. Cody's time in Utah is over now.