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Jonathan Kuminga decided to sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves over the Lakers after months of speculation and rumors. Do you believe that there's now a legitimate opportunity for you to be a starter for Los Angeles right out of the gate? Ziaire Williams: “Yeah, I do, and I mean that's the GM's job, right to put the best pieces together to try to win a championship. I don't think it's altered whether or not Kuminga was here. I wish him the best of luck in Minnesota, but as a team, we’re focused on the guys we have and making a deep playoff run and winning an NBA championship and I think we have the tools to do so.”
Is there a part of your game that you've worked on the most during the summer to improve? Ziaire Williams: “Definitely first and foremost, getting stronger, making sure my body is right. I feel like availability is the best ability. “Bulletproofing in my body, armoring up for the long season plus playoffs. Just keeping the game simple, being more efficient with my shooting, finishing at the rim, making closeout reads and simplifying the game.
“There’s a couple of people, man. Obviously we know what Austin and Luka can do and then you got a lot of heavy on Walker Kessler. But I’m looking at guys like the rook, Cameron Carr, but like Ziaire (Williams) and Mamu (Sandro Mamukelashvili). Like those two guys, Collin Sexton, a defensive presence that could come off the bench or start, be a point guard for them. Those three guys, to me, can be X-factors for the group, like what Jake (LaRavia) was last year. Jake can still carry that over and be better, but I think those three guys are guys that I’m looking at that can probably make a jump and make this team dangerous, if they progress.”
Ziaire Williams is home. The inflection in his voice, a day after hosting kids at his annual basketball clinic in Lancaster, is clear – Williams is thrilled to join the Lakers, for more reasons than one, he said. “I just feel like my calling is to give back to where I’m from,” Williams told the Southern California News Group on Sunday in an exclusive interview. “I’m grateful for the opportunity that I get to even have the chance to be able to put on this event. And I’m glad I’ll be back home in L.A. playing for the home team, because now I have a couple more opportunities to do a lot more than just one camp a year.”
Joining the Lakers on a one-year, $3 million deal in July, the Sierra Canyon alumnus said he is looking forward to the challenge of playing with the Lakers – and being a voice for young athletes from the “661.” “I just thought it was a great opportunity,” Williams said of why he chose to sign with the Lakers after averaging a career-high 10.2 points per game for the Brooklyn Nets last season. “Being that big wing, versatile player that they needed, I just thought it was a great opportunity for me to be a Laker. Even if the same team was in New Orleans or Milwaukee, wherever – just the opportunity that was here and the team that they had, I just thought it was the best fit. And then just being back home in L.A. is the cherry on top. Being able to play in front of my family and my friends, and I’m super excited.” Williams continued: “It’s all full circle.”
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The clincher that cemented the Lakers' one-year minimum deal to sign former lottery pick Ziaire Williams that was formally announced Sunday? I'm told that a four-person Lakers contingent — with assistant coaches Nate McMillan and Greg St. Jean joining lead executive Rob Pelinka and senior adviser Kurt Rambis — went to watch the 6-foot-9 Williams at a private workout at trainer Joe Abunassar's Impact Basketball gym in Las Vegas to gauge the state of Williams' game and recent efforts to sharpen his perimeter shooting.
Marc Stein: The Lakers have again broadened their search for perimeter defense, league sources say, registering interest this week in free agent Matisse Thybulle. They have already added Ziaire Williams while also continuing to pursue Jonathan Kuminga. More NBA: tinyurl.com/y2a9b8p6
Dan Woike: The Lakers have agreed to a deal with Ziaire Williams, team and league sources say. New Orleans had made a push in recent days to sign the 25-year-old, but the chance to play for his hometown Lakers in a winning situation has him headed to LA.
Shams Charania: Free agent forward Ziaire Williams has agreed on a one-year, $3 million deal to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell ESPN.
According to a league source, one player the Lakers could take a look at in free agency is Brooklyn small forward Zaire Williams, who had his team option declined by the Nets on Sunday. The Lakers have desires to get younger and more athletic on the wing, and Williams is coming off back-to-back seasons in Brooklyn where he averaged more than 10 points and shot better than 34 percent from 3-point range.
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Brooklyn declining Ziaire Williams' $6.25 million team option, as reported by HoopsHype and the New York Post, could be a prelude to the Nets re-signing him to a longer deal using their room exception once they're done using all their cap space. For now, the Nets have $36 million in functional cap room.
Michael Scotto: The Brooklyn Nets will decline their $6.25 million team option on Ziaire Williams, league sources told @hoopshype. The 24-year-old forward averaged 10.2 points in 56 games played for Brooklyn last season. Williams will become an unrestricted free agent.
Erik Slater: Nic Claxton (Right Hand Soreness) and Ziaire Williams (Left Foot Soreness) are OUT for Nets tomorrow vs. Wizards. Noah Clowney (Left Ankle Soreness) is questionable. Terance Mann (Right Patella Tendon Soreness/Left Achilles Soreness) is probable.
Ziaire Williams seems to have finally gotten beyond his reputation for inconsistency which has plagued him since his freshman year at Stanford. “He’s taken advantage of all those opportunities. He’s embraced what we’re doing and the process, which is the best thing. He understands. He’s about the right things,” Nets coach Jordi Fernández said. “I’m happy with him, and I’ve seen what I had to see. I also need him to go through this [remaining] stretch of eight games. “So, he’s embraced every situation. I’m very happy with what I’ve seen from him, and then we’ll make decisions when we have to. Obviously, it’s very collaborative around here. I’m not the one making decisions on the roster, but I’m always asked, and right now, we’re in a good place. The process is the best thing; it’s just going through it.”
