Experiencing enormous roster turnover this offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers will need everyone to maximize their role for the team to reach its potentially high ceiling.
That includes players in a position to be an X-factor, with the most notable perhaps being newcomer Ziaire Williams, who could start for the Lakers this season.
Williams, 25, is coming off a promising season and, for the first time, will get the opportunity to play under a big spotlight. WIlliams is one of the multiple veterans the Lakers signed to a minimum contract over the summer. A former lottery pick, Williams has done nothing but impress this preseason as he continues to stake claim for the team’s starting power forward position.
Williams Can Be a Legitimate Weapon for the Lakers, According to an Insider
Williams hasn’t reached star status in his five-year career, but there is a feeling in the air that this could be the season Williams breaks out. He may not reach All-Star status, but the high-upside 6’10” forward could star in his own role for L.A. and become a dependable contributor on both sides of the ball.
“Provided they stay reasonably healthy, the general feeling is that the Lakers have a pretty solid floor,” The Athletic’s Dan Woike wrote. “Most (Luka) Dončić teams do; the Lakers’ star guard is so good at orchestrating the game that if he’s out there, you’ve got a pretty good chance to win. Add in (Austin) Reaves, an in-his-prime efficiency machine and secondary creator, and the Lakers should be just fine. … And then there’s Williams, a 2021 lottery pick who finds himself in a tremendous situation with the Lakers. If he shoots as well as he’s shown in camp and preseason work, and if he defends with purpose, he could be a real weapon.”
And here’s the especially good news: Williams indeed defends, and he indeed has done it with a purpose. Pull up his Brooklyn Nets tape and have a look. And if the Lakers are already impressed by what they’ve seen from the 25-year-old swingman, that must mean has shown his defensive muscle leading up to the preseason opener.
“The Lakers signed Quentin Grimes to a four-year, $60 million deal, certainly starting-level money,” Woike wrote. “Ziaire Williams has been impressive in preseason workouts and could also be a starter option. Same for three-and-D wing Matisse Thybulle.”
Williams: L.A.’s Biggest X-Factor?
Williams’ physical profile makes him truly a unique two-way option for the Lakers. He confirmed last week that he bulked up to 215 pounds this offseason; couple those gains with his rangy 6’10” frame, and the Lakers might truly have something on both ends of the court.
“He played all five positions at least (at) one point throughout the course of the year,” Nets reporter Conner Long told Lakers analyst Jovan Buha recently. “That shows me at the very least the coaching staff had some degree of trust in him to hold his own defensively against bigger guys. We’ll see what L.A. does and how they manage that and if they want to give him some run against 4s or 5s, but I think he has the tools to do it.”
Williams can defend, but the only thing that stands between him and that next step is developing a consistent 3-point shot. If the Lakers have someone who can legitimately defend point guard through power forward on one end and hit at least 37 percent of his 3s on the other, we may well be talking about a roughly $3 million signing playing a major role for a top title contender.
Lakers Get Good News as Newly-Signed 6’10” Mismatch SF Called ‘Real Weapon’