The Los Angeles Lakers have a type. Malik Monk, Cam Reddish, Lonnie Walker, Jaxson Hayes, and Deandre Ayton are all failed former first-round picks that Rob Pelinka has brought in on cheap contracts to see if he can unlock their potential. His latest attempt at this approach comes in the form of Ziaire Williams, who agreed to a one-year $3 million deal with the Lakers.
Williams was selected 10th overall out of Stanford in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. He was also a top 10 recruit in a class that featured Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes, and Evan Mobley.
Williams was always viewed as a project pick but was believed to have high potential as a 6-foot-9 point-forward type with floor-spacing upside. In Memphis, he was never able to reach that potential, and a similar story followed him over the last two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets.
While he doesn’t look like he’ll ever reach that top-10 pick potential, Williams is coming off a solid season with the Nets, where he really bought into being a versatile point-of-attack defender. Williams’ upside could make him Pelinka’s best buy-low swing thus far.
The Lakers’ latest reclamation project feels different
Typically, when the Lakers sign these former top prospects or first-round picks, they are thrown into a demanding role and given unrealistic expectations. The most recent example of this was Deandre Ayton last season being tasked with starting at LA’s center, a role he failed to fill.
The difference with Williams is that expectations are incredibly low; he’s not being tasked to be a starter or a key bench piece. Instead, he’s just going to be asked to get stops, generate turnovers, be a play finisher, and be a connective passer. All things he did well with the Nets last season.
This past season, Williams averaged 10.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 34.3 percent from deep across 56 games. Many people have assumed this signing is a bet that JJ Redick can help unlock Williams as a floor spacer.
I don’t see things that way at all. To me, this signing is way more of a bet on his defensive capabilities than anything to do with his offense.
The Lakers had a major need for a point-of-attack defender after Marcus Smart departed LA for the Houston Rockets early into free agency. Signing Williams is a way to address that.
Last season, Williams was a high-level defender for Brooklyn and took on the toughest assignment almost every single time he was on the floor. Some may say he was doing that on a tanking team, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
Was their roster poor? Yes. But when you have Jordi Fernández as your head coach, development is important, but winning, toughness, and competing defensively all come first.
Williams bought in on all of that and saw it pay off. On top of his 1.8 stocks (steals plus blocks) per game average, he also finished in the 94th percentile in steal percentage and 70th percentile in block percentage according to Cleaning the Glass. Williams' size and athleticism allow him to be high-level both on and off the ball in terms of jumping passing lanes, and starting the fast break.
Williams’ transition from a one-ball, offense-first player to someone who really started taking pride in being a high-level defender was such a fun development. If he’s willing to carry that mentality over to the Lakers, he could be Pelinka’s best reclamation project yet.
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