3 Forwards the Jazz Should Consider Drafting at No. 10

The Utah Jazz have a shot to accelerate their rebuild during this year's draft.

Jan 10, 2024; Berkeley, California, USA; Colorado Buffaloes forward Cody Williams (10) dribbles against California Golden Bears guard Jalen Cone (15) during the first half at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Time is winding down for the Utah Jazz ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft.

With just over two weeks to go until the first-round kicks off, this team doesn't have long until a decision has to be made for their tenth-overall selection. The landscape of this draft is an interesting one being without much clear consensus around the top of the board, so it gives the Jazz a chance to land an impact player despite being in the back-end of the lottery.

We've already went over some potential guard prospects Utah should be looking to target, so the focus now transitions to forwards. After trading Simone Fontecchio, Ochai Agbaji, and Kelly Olynyk at the trade deadline, it places them with a pretty significant need in the frontcourt, effectively becoming an area we could easily see targeted later this month.

With that, here are three forward prospects the Jazz should look into for the 2024 NBA Draft.

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Cody Williams, Colorado

Jan 10, 2024; Berkeley, California, USA; Colorado Buffaloes forward Cody Williams (10) warms up before the game against the California Golden Bears at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN Rank: 12

He may stick on the lighter side at just 180 pounds entering this draft cycle, but Cody Williams would be a fantastic fit on the Jazz if available at ten.

The weight will need to come once he enters the league to remain a consistent contributor on the floor, but his offensive traits, as well as athleticism, give Williams an elite ceiling. He measured 6-foot-6 at the combine, also possessing an ideal 7-foot-1 wingspan, enabling him to hone into a two-way threat with the correct development and patience.

During his freshman season with the Buffaloes, Williams averaged 11.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists on impressive 55.2/41.5/71.4 splits, albeit not on a massive amount of shot attempts. Although, if that efficiency can even somewhat translate to the pros, his NBA future could look both long and promising.

In recent drafts, Utah has tended to lean on size and length for their acquisitions, and the Colorado product could be another entry alongside that. For a team that struggled on the defensive end routinely in 2023, the Jazz may tend to look into a stronger defensive prospect rather than Williams, but expect him to get a hard look at ten if available.

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Ron Holland, G-League Ignite

Mar 28, 2023; Houston, TX, USA; McDonald's All American West forward Ron Holland (1) in action during the first half against the McDonald's All American East at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN Rank: 11

If the Jazz's priority in this coming draft was to add defensive talent, Ron Holland may be the man for the job at number 10.

The primary ability that sticks out when scouting Holland is his elite athleticism, which, in turn, helps translate to his impact getting stops. He measures 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, making him a versatile and switchable defender at the next level. Holland also comes in as one of the youngest prospects in this class, who will be just 18 years old on draft night.

Offensively, there are still several steps forward to take for Holland, especially shooting the ball. Last season with the G-League Ignite, he remained an effective scorer at 19.5 points a night on 47.4% from the field, but an unsightly 23.9% from deep does him no favors-- especially from a scouting standpoint.

The silver lining for the Jazz, though, is that they're a team that can hide his offensive struggles if it means they can add another wing defender into the rotation. Holland fits that coveted mold, and it's why you could easily see Danny Ainge and the rest of the front office land on him being the eventual selection at ten.

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Tidjane Salaun, France

Tidjane Salaun is shown warming up in a pre-game shoot around, via FIBA.com. /

ESPN Rank: 9

When taking a glance at this year's top prospects, the name Tidjane Salaun may not ring a bell. However, the 6-foot-9 forward has gained some solid momentum to end up as a top-ten selection, and the Jazz should be keeping a keen eye on him.

There's no doubt that whichever team selects Salaun means a project player would be coming aboard, but it's a process that could be one of the best picks on the board in due time. He is an 18-year-old 6-foot-9 forward with a long 7-foot wingspan and has the size, versatility, athleticism, and upside on both sides of the ball to become one of the best guys in the class.

The problem when analyzing Salaun is his lack of experience and inconsistency offensively and defensively, which prevents him from shooting up draft boards even further. By only playing basketball for a few years compared to the rest of the class, scouts wonder if he stacks up with the more tested players on the table. It's a classic high-risk, high-reward scenario, but the Jazz could be the team to take the gamble.

Utah has shown a willingness to display patience and ideal development for their young players like Taylor Hendricks and Brice Sensabaugh, and a selection of Salaun could be another case of that. If the Jazz wanted to shoot for the moon with their lottery pick, the Frenchman may be the one to make that happen.

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