When the Brooklyn Nets made the move to acquire forward Ziaire Williams from the Memphis Grizzlies, it was seen as the Nets buying a lottery ticket as Memphis desperately tried to shed some salary. The Nets only had to give up well-traveled journeyman big Mamadi Diakite and the 10-year-old draft rights to Serbian guard Nemanja Dangubic, who has never played in the NBA, for Williams and a future second-round pick.
Diakite has since been waived twice, Dangubic will never play in the NBA, and Williams has blossomed into an incredible role player for Brooklyn. The Nets essentially acquired a 23-year-old quality rotation player for free.
Williams has proven his worth by doing the little things for the Nets
While fans like to focus on stars who can take over the game, the role players that support those stars are equally important. Without players to set screens, move off the ball, crash the boards, and play tenacious defense, stars wouldn’t be able to do what makes them special.
Those little things are where Williams has excelled this season. While the numbers don’t jump off the page, Williams is averaging 9.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game. It’s those little things that have allowed him to become a major contributor to the Nets.
As a result, the former No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 draft is averaging 21.7 minutes per game, equaling his highest minute-per-game total which came in his rookie season. Over his last five games, he started twice in the absence of Dorian Finney-Smith and is averaging 25 minutes per contest, distinguishing himself as Brooklyn’s top reserve.
On the offensive end, Williams is an energizer bunny. Setting screens, moving without the ball, and cutting hard to the basket. He’s also been a streaky shooter when spotting up from three-point range, though his percentages have come back down to earth after a scorching hot start.
One area where Williams has excelled is in his ability to attack closeouts. This has led to a career-best 45.7% field goal percentage, a career-high in free-throws attempted per game (1.6) where he’s shooting a solid 81% from the line, and a shot quality rate of 60.9 which is well above average.
The 6-9 forward is excelling at picking his spots on the offensive end while doing the little things to free up the Nets’ primary scoring options to succeed in favorable matchups.
Defensively, Ziaire Williams is shining
On the defensive end, Williams has been stellar. The forward has shown the versatility to switch on to players both smaller and bigger than him and is often seen pressuring the opposition’s primary ball handlers in the backcourt.
His 6-10 wingspan has created havoc in the passing lanes, and he’s averaging a career-high 1.0 steals per game as a result. Even when he doesn’t come away with the steal, he’s length has led to a lot of disruptions and deflections creating problems for the opposition.
Among wings around the league, per Cleaning the Glass, his block percentage (1.0%) is in the 75th percentile, his steal percentage (2.0%) is in the 87th percentile, and his defensive rebounding percentage (18.5%) is in the 97th percentile. As per CraftedNBA, his deflection score of 2.7 is in the 78th percentile overall while his defensive versatility rating of 69 is in the 70th percentile.
All told, the lanky forward has put together an impressive defensive season and has a career-best 113.4 defensive rating so far this season, which compares favorably to last year’s average defensive rating for small forwards of 115.8.
Unlocking his three-point shot is key to take his game to the next level
The 3-and-D archetype is one of the most valuable role players in the modern NBA. While Williams has made some nice offensive contributions in other ways, his three-point shot is leaving something to be desired.
Williams has been streaky this season, starting very hot in October knocking down a blistering 56.2% of his three-point attempts. With the calendar turning to November, however, he’s gone ice-cold from downtown connecting on just 17.9% of his triples.
The Jekyll-and-Hyde performance from beyond the arc has led to a 31.8% three-point percentage, only a tick higher than his career average of 30.2%. From his shot chart, it’s clear that he’s much more comfortable from the right corner extending out to the right wing, while he really struggles from the other side of the court and rarely attempts above-the-break threes.
Outlook for the rest of the season
The biggest point of development for Williams will be his outside shot. If he can bring his three-point percentage to just league average, which for forwards is between 34-35%, he’ll be an insanely valuable contributor.
Furthermore, the Nets hope to see him maintain this level of play on the boards and the defensive end throughout the season. Williams is developing into the type of player who can match up against the opposition’s best scoring option, while also providing the switchable versatility to run the high-pressure scheme that head coach Jordi Fernandez favors.
Even without a consistent outside shot, Williams has proven himself to be a very valuable asset. However, if he can develop some consistency from behind the arc, the Nets will have acquired one of the NBA’s premier role players basically for free.