Jonathan Kuminga will not be donning the purple and gold next season. The 23-year-old has decided to swap his sunglasses for a parka and join the Minnesota Timberwolves on a two-year deal. Many Lakers fans and people around the NBA saw Kuminga as the final piece to what has been an eventful and successful offseason for Rob Pelinka and the front office.
Missing out on Kuminga is unfortunate, but it does create an opportunity for one of Los Angeles' other signings to break out: Ziaire Williams.
The former top-10 high school recruit joined the Lakers in the middle of July on a one-year, veteran minimum. At the time of this signing, many viewed it as the Lakers' way of adding depth to a rather thin wing position. Now, Williams has a full runway to becoming an important piece for LA.
The Lakers could still use another forward who can defend and provide some offense after missing out on Kuminga. Given the remaining players in free agency, LA doesn’t have a clear Plan B to pivot to. That makes Williams an obvious next man up.
Could Ziaire Williams be better than Jonathan Kuminga for the Lakers?
This past season, Williams posted solid numbers on a tanking Brooklyn team, showing strong flashes as a point-of-attack defender. Across 56 games, he averaged 10.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 34.3 percent from deep.
Offensively, Williams isn’t the same type of finisher or athlete Kuminga is; he has a much more well-rounded game. For a player of his size, Williams has a strong handle and can be trusted with creating as a secondary ball handler.
Dating back to his pre-NBA and even pre-college days, Williams was always viewed as a point forward, and that could provide real value for LA. Pair that with his downhill scoring and an improving outside shot, and he may be more versatile and suited for this team than Kuminga was. That is especially true when factoring in his defense.
At 6-foot-9, he has great length, and his athleticism makes him an incredibly versatile defender who can guard a range of guards, forwards, and even some bigs.
Under Jordi Fernandez, he was a Swiss Army knife defensively and one of the Nets' most consistent sources of turnover generation. His impact on both the perimeter and at the rim was reflected in his advanced stats.
Williams finished in the 94th percentile in steal percentage and 70th percentile in block percentage according to Cleaning the Glass. Williams is very strong on the ball defensively but also possesses the ideal size to help and recover to his man off the ball.
With Kuminga firmly out of the picture, someone is going to need to step up at the forward spot for LA to be real players in the Western Conference next season. That opportunity is right there for Williams—he just has to take it.
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