The Lakers are rolling the dice on a buy-low option on the wing.
After having his team option declined by the Nets, Ziaire Williams has reportedly agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal with the Lakers, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
Considering the Lakers are over the cap, have no other mechanism to sign a player and Shams loves to inflate contract numbers as favors to agents, this is almost certainly a veteran’s minimum contract. Williams will make $2.8 million, but it will only count as $2.4 million toward the Lakers’ cap.
A 6’9” wing who is still just 24 years old, Williams was always a teammate of Bronny James at Sierra Canyon in high school. Last season in Brooklyn, he averaged 10.2 points per game in 56 contests, shooting 42.5% from the field and 34.3% from three.
Williams’ jumper is a work in progress as that mark was the best of his career. Across five seasons in Memphis and New York, Williams has shot 32.2% from the field. However, he is a wing with athleticism and size, two things the Lakers currently lack. He did shoot 43.2% from range over the final 22 games of last season, but that was also immediately preceded by a stretch of 5-24 (20.8%) shooting as well.
Ironically, one of Williams’ best games of the season last year came against the Lakers when he scored 17 points on 7-11 shooting in a loss to the purple and gold in LA. In that contest, he shot 3-6 from three as well.
With this signing, the Lakers have a full roster. However, the expectation is for moves to still be made, but it solidifies that the team will have to trade away players to add more to the roster. This has been the expectation, particularly with Jonathan Kuminga, should he decide to join the Lakers.