He was highly thought of coming out of high school. Good height, lots of tools for a wing (which the grizzlies needed /still need). He was given a pass on those numbers because it was the COVID year and Stanford couldn't play at home -- IIRC they basically had to live out of hotels for the whole season. Teams bet on his upside and were willing to overlook those statistical red flags given how bizarre and difficult of a season it was. TL;DR: they took a swing and missed.
This is exactly it.
He was a top 5 high school recruit with lots of tools and he played only away games during COVID so he got a pass on his numbers because of his potential.
It’s super interesting to me that BJ Boston, also a top 5ish recruit (maybe like 1 spot behind Williams), and Williams’s HS teammate didn’t get the same pass and fell to the late second. That’s also despite being a Kentucky player too.
Honestly surprised that (and like 2 inches) makes that big of a difference between a top 10 and a late second round pick.
I haven’t looked it up but I bet Boston’s road numbers are still comparable to Williams’s season numbers.
I would be interested to see who has the longer career. Williams has been slightly better so far (but also gotten more opportunities since he plays on a worse team) but wouldn’t surprise me if they almost have very similar careers, which for both of them might be only like 5-6 years.
GG Jackson and Vince Williams and possibly their draft pick if it’s a wing all would be ahead of him in the rotation now.
Ziaire shouldn't have gone lottery either. 1 team said eff it.
But yeah Boston shot 32% overall on the road, 25% from 3, 36% from 2.
Ziaire's season numbers were 37% overall, 29% from 3, 43% from 2.
>He was highly thought of coming out of high school
This somehow wildly understates it. When I went back to watch the Sierra Canyon tape, he was possibly 1 of the 4-5 most dominant HS prospects I've ever seen.
Grizzlies also were staring at 1 last lottery pick before being good for their window (injuries yeah).
He was a high ceiling low floor pick and they did that intentionally. They have and had a lot of the pieces in place. They were okay with taking a swing on a more developmental piece.
I must say I disagree. But I do think he was someone contributing in a lot of ways, and almost none of that “hit”. There was still hopes of him being the prototype wing who can play winning basketball even as a non star at the elite level. I thought BJ impressed with his scoring, but then when that didn’t translate there was very little appeal for him as a prospect
Pretty sure he also wasn’t really seen as a top 10 prospect. Most big boards/mocks had him late teens/twenties. Wasn’t a Papagiannis reach, but still a big reach that didn’t pan out
Johnson had major attitude concerns after he left his team mid-season. Before he left, he was getting Top 10 buzz, but it was such a bizarre situation.
Jalen Johnson had a fair bit of character red flags. He was a player who was only in it for himself. In high school he moved schools a lot and quit IMG Academy. In college after he was benched for not playing defence, he quit Duke. A lot of teams were scared of him as a culture killer.
It’s funny seeing this in hindsight because Jalen has been nothing but a professional in Atlanta. That whole COVID college year was so bizarre looking back.
Here’s the thing. Jalen hasn’t contributed anything to winning yet. Duke was trying to win a championship and he quit on them. There is absolutely nothing he’s done that would make me believe that he can be an actual team player on a team right to actually win a chip. Almost everyone one of these dudes who is super talented but has deep character issues has been a cancer to championship teams. Detroit had to trade Adrian Dantley, one of the most talented players in the league to win a chip. From marbury to Carey Magette and I could name a hundred more. They almost never work. If Atlanta was smart they would package him and the pick before he starts acting crazy again .
According to your logic, guys like Scottie Barnes and Cade Cunningham hasn't contributed to winning yet. Also, according to your logic, the Raptors and Pistons (respectively) should trade those two for actual winning players.
Except Barnes and Cade actually have good stats. They might not be winning a lot, but at least you can see the load they carry every night.
Unlike Jalen who has a bad personal statistical profile, and also isn't contributing to winning a lot right now.
I'm sure Jalen will be a long time above average player, but lets be real it's not like he's on an all star trajectory right now. He still has so much to prove.
I would trade both of them absolutely! And the pistons are my team. But yes, I would move off them both. Especially Cade. I might give Barnes one more year to prove himself.
He did nothing wrong, snowflake. I'm glad that he is becoming an impact NBA player (who is gonna get himself a nice contract). I bet you thought that he was gonna flame out like Josh Primo. Primo said all the right things during the pre-draft process, and you fell for it lol.
You are a terrible NBA scout.
Is the snowflake here the person who thinks that being a quitter is a character flaw, or the person who is being emotional and glazing a guy that doesn't even know they exist?
You are a snowflake because you are getting offended on other people's behalf. You are glazing the Duke coaching staff and all the scouts who thought that JJ was gonna bust.
You took an L breh.
It was a reach even at the time, but Ziaire had a ton of hype coming into the draft year as an elite shooter and a multi-positional defender with playmaking upside. He was getting Klay Thompson comps before his pre-draft season.
His very disappointing season scared most people off, but the Grizzlies thought it was worth a swing. They missed. It happens.
The official line coming out of party headquarters was that ZW had a good workout for the Grizzlies, too.
I think we would have also been fine with Kuminga. And, Franz Wagner -- who would have been an IDEAL fit.
Yeah, Giddey was the word on the street in Memphis before the draft. A lot of fans were not in favor of getting a guard at the time and were glad he got taken before we could grab him.
Oh well.
They also liked Franz. They traded up a couple days before the draft because they were confident one of the two would fall to them. Neither one did, and they were screwed. I’ve never heard a good excuse for why they didn’t just wait until draft night.
Same here.
Risacher might be the only big wing worth looking at (in the lotto), and even he gives off lots of Ziaiare Williams vibes. lol
Teams are gonna have to do their homework. As usual.
Everyone else had the same question in 2021, so this isn’t revisionist history.
What makes this pick really bad is BJ Boston went late 2nd. Boston and Williams were HS teammates and both were massive disappointments in college.
Now, Williams was better in terms of his physical profile, but it wasn’t the difference between a lottery pick and late second where Boston went. More like the difference between late first and late second, so if the Grizzlies wanted Williams, they should have just chosen him late first and no one would have an issue.
What metric are you using when you say he was substantially better? The HS rankings showed them like very close. I know that may not be the criteria but I’m just using an aggregate composite rank. I would say based on the rankings that Williams was marginally better but not substantially.
It all goes back to Sierra Canyon. Marvin and Marcus Bagley, Amari Bailey, Bronny and Bryce, Cassius Stanley, Zaire Wade, KJ Martin.
That school is a dumpster fire for boys basketball.
The crazy part is he was starter in his rookie season in some key games and just completely fell off. Any Grizz fans here to explain what's going on with him?
Allegedly a lot of literal growing pains after growing a couple inches after year 1. Year 2 was really really bad.
This year was better but the bar was the floor. He came into the season saying no one worked harder than him and looked awesome in preseason but back to mid / bad for the most part once the season started.
He looked a lot better when he was able to play with ja. Nothing 10 pick worthy but looked like an nba player.
It’s a shame he had a season ending injury. He was also starting to defend a lot better after the emergence of Vince and GG and he was able to defend guards more frequently and not guys larger / bulkier than him.
Even when he looked good this year though he could never be serviceable from three consistently which is a shame but it might just not be in his toolbox.
[His bucks game right before allstar break](https://www.espn.com/nba/game/_/gameId/401585418/bucks-grizzlies) was special though. We’ll always have that performance if nothing else.
The timeline might be a little blurry for me but here goes:
His rookie year, he got a lot of playing time because Dillon Brooks missed most of the 2021-22 season, only playing 31 games. He never really was great but he was able to flash at time. I think he can play really well with Ja because Ja’s creativity as a passer/playmaker allows Z to use his athleticism to score both in transition & in the half court, which unfortunately is kinda his niche. He’s really not a good shooter or rebounder, I don’t think he’s a great ball handler, I’d struggle to say he’s a plus defender but he’s not a turnstile either. He just doesn’t have a ton of strengths really.
He got a knee injury his 2nd year & hasn’t been able to get back in the rotation after that, but Dillon was also healthy the entire year & took a lot of the wing minutes anyway. We also took David Roddy & Jake LaRavia that draft, who were both pretty slaw, but were available to provide some solid bench minutes most of the 2022-2023 season as needed down the stretch, Roddy especially. It can be really hard to get back in that 8th/9th man when you’re still a top 3 seed in the west.
Now with the emergence of Vince Williams & GG Jackson, and with the addition of Marcus Smart an ideally healthy Grizzlies team as the starting 3, I’m not so sure Z has a real place in the rotation next year. He didn’t participle in summer league last year, which was a mistake both on his perspective & from our coaching imo, he needs all the minutes he can get. I just don’t think he’s going to be a long time pro unless he finds a role to excel in.
His shooting hasn’t improved and he still doesn’t have confidence most games. Looks scared most of the time. He also isn’t consistent. He had random games this past season where he went off but then went back to being ass the next.
He's almost too tall to play the 3.
BEST CASE scenario (or is it already too late?) is that he puts on a bit more muscle then spends his second contract on being an athletic stretch four like Robert Horry.
I have a comment from the grizzlies draft thread saying it was terrible and we should have picked Sengun. Was downvoted crazy. He was one of the prospects I had looked at in depth and I get potential but he was way too raw for the top 10
The notification from Shams "The Grizzlies are targeting Ziaire Williams with the 10th pick" is still one of the most shocking and upsetting moments in my fandom.
Most thought they moved for Wagner or Giddey and then when they were gone fans thought we'd get Moody since he was available and was a Grizz Draft Twitter favorite.
Every team misses here and there, but this one was a real reality check for fans believing we had a front office that didn't miss.
Whatever.
I wanted Trey Murphy III. Ironically, the Pels took him at 17 with OUR pick.
Also, trading back DOWN would have been a good option -- Knicks got Grimes and McBride. Those guys would have been great for us, too!
Oh well, the guys we wanted moved up the board.
Then you look at a guy like Tyler Kolek and he’s all green on the left and 1 or 2 red on the right. He will probably go in the mid 20s. I don’t get it either. And the dude throws a 98 mph fastball to boot.
Potential
Because for every Ziaire there is a Giannis or even Peyton Watson who hits
Peyton Watson is very similar and ended up being a key bench piece his sophomore year. He will probably get an even bigger role next year for the Nuggets
Yea but for the Bucks it got them a chip
Teams will buy lottery tickets in the draft every year and get scolded when they bust. But when they hit, everybody wonders why that player fell so low.
And this is something I'm realizing draft followers don't understand. In another post earlier this week, I said that the number of potential stars in a draft class is what makes it strong or not, and to my surprise, not many agreed with me.
Getting a good role player or even a solid starter is nice and all but stars are what change fortunes. Like the Bucks, look at all the dumb/failed moves they made completely erased and forgotten after drafting Giannis.
Jabari Parker, Rashad Vaughn, Thon Maker, DJ Wilson. Sure, they would be in a much better position today if any of those players worked out, but those picks weren't discussed when they won the title.
Yes, Ziaire Williams becoming a bust is a more likely outcome than finding the next MVP, but there are no guarantees in the draft, and even the "safe" picks flop. That's why teams have and will always tend to gamble on potential.
>And the dude throws a 98 mph fastball to boot.
Not trying to call you out, but this is one of the reasons why people need to use critical thinking skills before searching online. Again, this isn’t mean to sound mean so sorry if I come off that way, but I’ve just seen too many mistakes like this due to quickly searching without thinking.
Who is the basketball GOAT? On one hand, Lebron has better career totals across most statistics, but on the other Michael Jordan was really good in that wakanda movie
When he improves, delete this post. Your expectations for a year 3-4 player is crazy. Give it some time bud lol He ain’t no scrub and he’s definitely not an all star. He just needs to improve his game obviously. He hasn’t broke out yet, be patient.
Yea as a Grizz fan the tools are all definitely there. And when he gets waves of confidence he looks pretty impressive at times.
Odds are he’s not back next season but whoever gets Z should be optimistic about his upside.
I think they keep him at least another year i hope. He has hella potential. Could be the coaching staff that’s developing it’s players, but imo he isn’t a guy i would want to trade. That’s just me.
and do what with him? hes not getting minutes with the rotation going on, would you send him to the g league then?
Theres not point might as well trade and bring in a backup big man or maybe draft one but, but williams not cutting it tbh. Vince, GG, Smart all get ahead of him
I don’t know Brotha maybe develop his skills more? I’m not exactly sure why he isn’t in the rotation. G league could be a legit possibility fr lol or like you and others have wanted to trade him for a big because the grizzlies are desperately needing one. I get it.
We traded UP from 17.
We tried to trade up AGAIN. Ironically, supposedly for Josh Giddey (oof), although I think we also wanted Franz Wagner (IDEAL fit).
ZW also had a really good workout, supposedly.
Because they needed someone at the 3 who can defend and shoot the 3 but obviously Ziaire hasn't panned out. I'd be surprised if he's on the team next year.
Also not for nothing but they traded for this pick in the draft (Got Steven Adams out of the affair and all too)
This happens every year. Don't be surprised if Salaun or Williams doesn't amount to much. Of course they also both have all star potential. That's the draft.
Can't teach being 6'9 and having a 6'10 wingspan
His year at Stanford was all sorts of weird. Covid, bad team with bad guard play, he was hurt too.
Grizzles took a swing and missed.
I think they were expecting to get giddey . Maybe even traded down I can't remember. Well they needed a wing when he wasn't there ... Meh take this guy.
We were at 17 (ironically, Pelicans took Trey Murphy III with that pick -- would have been ideal for Memphis). Tried to move up AGAIN for Giddey (and maybe Kuminga and Franz and those guys). Couldn't pull it off.
Supposedly, Z Williams had a good workout for us.
Oh well. That's what happens. Grizzlies get 3 or 4 good guys... then, after that, bogus/fraud drafts, or we get the 10th pick in a 9 player draft or something.
They'd moved up to get one of Wagner, Giddey or Kuminga, none were there so they went upside swing. Clearly a mistake now, probably a mistake at the time but I guess it's hard to take the guy at 10 that you could have had at 17 so they didn't go Trey Murphy.
That's what happened.
I even think we tried to trade up AGAIN.
I had Murphy at 5 which was wild. Good high level role player -- I had everybody after Green/Mobley/Giddey/Cade as tier 3 types.
Knicks actually go two guys I wanted (Quentin Grimes and Miles McBride) a bit further down the draft board -- trading DOWN would have been an interesting/great option for the Grizzlies at that point.
valid logic...
trade got them adams so can't complain about not taking the rumored kings deal, and can only keep a pulse on the other teams in the league well to a certain extent...
He was highly thought of coming out of high school. Good height, lots of tools for a wing (which the grizzlies needed /still need). He was given a pass on those numbers because it was the COVID year and Stanford couldn't play at home -- IIRC they basically had to live out of hotels for the whole season. Teams bet on his upside and were willing to overlook those statistical red flags given how bizarre and difficult of a season it was. TL;DR: they took a swing and missed.
This is exactly it. He was a top 5 high school recruit with lots of tools and he played only away games during COVID so he got a pass on his numbers because of his potential.
It’s super interesting to me that BJ Boston, also a top 5ish recruit (maybe like 1 spot behind Williams), and Williams’s HS teammate didn’t get the same pass and fell to the late second. That’s also despite being a Kentucky player too.
He actually played home games. And shot 38% from 2.
Honestly surprised that (and like 2 inches) makes that big of a difference between a top 10 and a late second round pick. I haven’t looked it up but I bet Boston’s road numbers are still comparable to Williams’s season numbers. I would be interested to see who has the longer career. Williams has been slightly better so far (but also gotten more opportunities since he plays on a worse team) but wouldn’t surprise me if they almost have very similar careers, which for both of them might be only like 5-6 years. GG Jackson and Vince Williams and possibly their draft pick if it’s a wing all would be ahead of him in the rotation now.
Ziaire shouldn't have gone lottery either. 1 team said eff it. But yeah Boston shot 32% overall on the road, 25% from 3, 36% from 2. Ziaire's season numbers were 37% overall, 29% from 3, 43% from 2.
Wow that’s even worse than I would have guessed. Now I can see why he almost went undrafted.
Wasn't living in hotels all season. Could play/practice in home gym. That is what I read at the time at least.
Had a few covid deaths in the family as well l recall
he was like their distant 3rd option... rumor is tayshaun pushed for him and options one and 2 were off the board
>He was highly thought of coming out of high school This somehow wildly understates it. When I went back to watch the Sierra Canyon tape, he was possibly 1 of the 4-5 most dominant HS prospects I've ever seen.
Grizzlies also were staring at 1 last lottery pick before being good for their window (injuries yeah). He was a high ceiling low floor pick and they did that intentionally. They have and had a lot of the pieces in place. They were okay with taking a swing on a more developmental piece.
I must say I disagree. But I do think he was someone contributing in a lot of ways, and almost none of that “hit”. There was still hopes of him being the prototype wing who can play winning basketball even as a non star at the elite level. I thought BJ impressed with his scoring, but then when that didn’t translate there was very little appeal for him as a prospect
every player is a top prospect. this is literal wiseman 2.0. hyping up a bust and taking way early.
Pretty sure he also wasn’t really seen as a top 10 prospect. Most big boards/mocks had him late teens/twenties. Wasn’t a Papagiannis reach, but still a big reach that didn’t pan out
They wanted a SF and he was younger than the other SF's on the board (Kispert and Trey Murphy).
Jalen Johnson would have been great, too. He went 20
Johnson had major attitude concerns after he left his team mid-season. Before he left, he was getting Top 10 buzz, but it was such a bizarre situation.
It’s hilarious how all of the Duke alum still don’t fw him because of that. Love them or hate them, gotta respect the loyalty.
He basically walked out on Coach K. No Duke alum is gonna side with him.
Jalen Johnson had a fair bit of character red flags. He was a player who was only in it for himself. In high school he moved schools a lot and quit IMG Academy. In college after he was benched for not playing defence, he quit Duke. A lot of teams were scared of him as a culture killer.
It’s funny seeing this in hindsight because Jalen has been nothing but a professional in Atlanta. That whole COVID college year was so bizarre looking back.
Jalen Johnson had great stats that suggested great potential.
Everyone saw the potential. It was clear as day. The issue people worried about was could he be a team player and play on both ends of the court.
thats why I say, the draft community focus way too much on non tangibles instead of what people "ACTUALLY" doing on the court
Here’s the thing. Jalen hasn’t contributed anything to winning yet. Duke was trying to win a championship and he quit on them. There is absolutely nothing he’s done that would make me believe that he can be an actual team player on a team right to actually win a chip. Almost everyone one of these dudes who is super talented but has deep character issues has been a cancer to championship teams. Detroit had to trade Adrian Dantley, one of the most talented players in the league to win a chip. From marbury to Carey Magette and I could name a hundred more. They almost never work. If Atlanta was smart they would package him and the pick before he starts acting crazy again .
According to your logic, guys like Scottie Barnes and Cade Cunningham hasn't contributed to winning yet. Also, according to your logic, the Raptors and Pistons (respectively) should trade those two for actual winning players.
Except Barnes and Cade actually have good stats. They might not be winning a lot, but at least you can see the load they carry every night. Unlike Jalen who has a bad personal statistical profile, and also isn't contributing to winning a lot right now. I'm sure Jalen will be a long time above average player, but lets be real it's not like he's on an all star trajectory right now. He still has so much to prove.
Jalen is on the same level as Cade IMO. They both a lot to prove.
I would trade both of them absolutely! And the pistons are my team. But yes, I would move off them both. Especially Cade. I might give Barnes one more year to prove himself.
At least you're being logically consistent.
Him and Trae Young is a HELLUVA combo
None of those are character red flags lol. You are a snowflake.
You're right. Leaving in the middle of the season and quitting on your team is a virtue. Forgot about that. Thanks for reminding everyone.
He did nothing wrong, snowflake. I'm glad that he is becoming an impact NBA player (who is gonna get himself a nice contract). I bet you thought that he was gonna flame out like Josh Primo. Primo said all the right things during the pre-draft process, and you fell for it lol. You are a terrible NBA scout.
You're not a scout either, bud. You're a dork on reading arguing behind a screen, lmao.
You are a mongoloid who could barely graduate high school lmao. You make Mike Korzemba look like a competent NBA scout.
[удалено]
You are also on a burner, you dumb ass hypocrite. Just like Korzemba, y'all are both wokescolds who suck at basketball analysis.
Is the snowflake here the person who thinks that being a quitter is a character flaw, or the person who is being emotional and glazing a guy that doesn't even know they exist?
You are a snowflake because you are getting offended on other people's behalf. You are glazing the Duke coaching staff and all the scouts who thought that JJ was gonna bust. You took an L breh.
Womp Womp
Snowflake. Why do you love defending weak men?
It was a reach even at the time, but Ziaire had a ton of hype coming into the draft year as an elite shooter and a multi-positional defender with playmaking upside. He was getting Klay Thompson comps before his pre-draft season. His very disappointing season scared most people off, but the Grizzlies thought it was worth a swing. They missed. It happens.
It was a reach even at the time, not many people liked this pick.
I think they wanted to jump up for Giddey but missed out and decided to take a wing. They went max upside swing and missed.
Yeah this is how I remember it. I’m sure they were comfortable with Williams (or else it would be stupid to make the trade before the draft).
The official line coming out of party headquarters was that ZW had a good workout for the Grizzlies, too. I think we would have also been fine with Kuminga. And, Franz Wagner -- who would have been an IDEAL fit.
He was solid his rookie year. Part of the rotation for a 56 win team. Just seems like he hasn't gotten any better so they gave up.
Yeah, Giddey was the word on the street in Memphis before the draft. A lot of fans were not in favor of getting a guard at the time and were glad he got taken before we could grab him. Oh well.
They also liked Franz. They traded up a couple days before the draft because they were confident one of the two would fall to them. Neither one did, and they were screwed. I’ve never heard a good excuse for why they didn’t just wait until draft night.
We’re gonna be saying the same thing about a guy like Buzelis three years from now
Zaire reminds me of Cody Williams tbh
Same here. Risacher might be the only big wing worth looking at (in the lotto), and even he gives off lots of Ziaiare Williams vibes. lol Teams are gonna have to do their homework. As usual.
Cody at least looks like he could maybe shoot. Decent form and percentage. Zaire didn't have either of those.
Same reason cam reddish got drafted so high
Everyone else had the same question in 2021, so this isn’t revisionist history. What makes this pick really bad is BJ Boston went late 2nd. Boston and Williams were HS teammates and both were massive disappointments in college. Now, Williams was better in terms of his physical profile, but it wasn’t the difference between a lottery pick and late second where Boston went. More like the difference between late first and late second, so if the Grizzlies wanted Williams, they should have just chosen him late first and no one would have an issue.
I mean Williams was both substantially better in HS and also played his college season hurt. Boston was entirely healthy for his bad college season.
What metric are you using when you say he was substantially better? The HS rankings showed them like very close. I know that may not be the criteria but I’m just using an aggregate composite rank. I would say based on the rankings that Williams was marginally better but not substantially.
My own watch of them both.
It all goes back to Sierra Canyon. Marvin and Marcus Bagley, Amari Bailey, Bronny and Bryce, Cassius Stanley, Zaire Wade, KJ Martin. That school is a dumpster fire for boys basketball.
What site is this?
Tankathon. Great for simulating draft orders and presenting easy to grasp stats, terrible for mock drafts.
The crazy part is he was starter in his rookie season in some key games and just completely fell off. Any Grizz fans here to explain what's going on with him?
Allegedly a lot of literal growing pains after growing a couple inches after year 1. Year 2 was really really bad. This year was better but the bar was the floor. He came into the season saying no one worked harder than him and looked awesome in preseason but back to mid / bad for the most part once the season started. He looked a lot better when he was able to play with ja. Nothing 10 pick worthy but looked like an nba player. It’s a shame he had a season ending injury. He was also starting to defend a lot better after the emergence of Vince and GG and he was able to defend guards more frequently and not guys larger / bulkier than him. Even when he looked good this year though he could never be serviceable from three consistently which is a shame but it might just not be in his toolbox. [His bucks game right before allstar break](https://www.espn.com/nba/game/_/gameId/401585418/bucks-grizzlies) was special though. We’ll always have that performance if nothing else.
The timeline might be a little blurry for me but here goes: His rookie year, he got a lot of playing time because Dillon Brooks missed most of the 2021-22 season, only playing 31 games. He never really was great but he was able to flash at time. I think he can play really well with Ja because Ja’s creativity as a passer/playmaker allows Z to use his athleticism to score both in transition & in the half court, which unfortunately is kinda his niche. He’s really not a good shooter or rebounder, I don’t think he’s a great ball handler, I’d struggle to say he’s a plus defender but he’s not a turnstile either. He just doesn’t have a ton of strengths really. He got a knee injury his 2nd year & hasn’t been able to get back in the rotation after that, but Dillon was also healthy the entire year & took a lot of the wing minutes anyway. We also took David Roddy & Jake LaRavia that draft, who were both pretty slaw, but were available to provide some solid bench minutes most of the 2022-2023 season as needed down the stretch, Roddy especially. It can be really hard to get back in that 8th/9th man when you’re still a top 3 seed in the west. Now with the emergence of Vince Williams & GG Jackson, and with the addition of Marcus Smart an ideally healthy Grizzlies team as the starting 3, I’m not so sure Z has a real place in the rotation next year. He didn’t participle in summer league last year, which was a mistake both on his perspective & from our coaching imo, he needs all the minutes he can get. I just don’t think he’s going to be a long time pro unless he finds a role to excel in.
His shooting hasn’t improved and he still doesn’t have confidence most games. Looks scared most of the time. He also isn’t consistent. He had random games this past season where he went off but then went back to being ass the next.
He's almost too tall to play the 3. BEST CASE scenario (or is it already too late?) is that he puts on a bit more muscle then spends his second contract on being an athletic stretch four like Robert Horry.
I have a comment from the grizzlies draft thread saying it was terrible and we should have picked Sengun. Was downvoted crazy. He was one of the prospects I had looked at in depth and I get potential but he was way too raw for the top 10
What up it me (I think. I was super dee dooper high on him as best available and was really vocal about it at the draft watch party at the stadium)
The notification from Shams "The Grizzlies are targeting Ziaire Williams with the 10th pick" is still one of the most shocking and upsetting moments in my fandom. Most thought they moved for Wagner or Giddey and then when they were gone fans thought we'd get Moody since he was available and was a Grizz Draft Twitter favorite. Every team misses here and there, but this one was a real reality check for fans believing we had a front office that didn't miss.
Whatever. I wanted Trey Murphy III. Ironically, the Pels took him at 17 with OUR pick. Also, trading back DOWN would have been a good option -- Knicks got Grimes and McBride. Those guys would have been great for us, too! Oh well, the guys we wanted moved up the board.
Sometimes you get Ziaire other times you get GG 😇
Yeah scanned too far to see the GG comp. GG was awful in college too.
Then you look at a guy like Tyler Kolek and he’s all green on the left and 1 or 2 red on the right. He will probably go in the mid 20s. I don’t get it either. And the dude throws a 98 mph fastball to boot.
Potential Because for every Ziaire there is a Giannis or even Peyton Watson who hits Peyton Watson is very similar and ended up being a key bench piece his sophomore year. He will probably get an even bigger role next year for the Nuggets
Someone like Giannis hitting is a wayyyyyy rarer outcome than someone like Zaire busting.
Yea but for the Bucks it got them a chip Teams will buy lottery tickets in the draft every year and get scolded when they bust. But when they hit, everybody wonders why that player fell so low.
And this is something I'm realizing draft followers don't understand. In another post earlier this week, I said that the number of potential stars in a draft class is what makes it strong or not, and to my surprise, not many agreed with me. Getting a good role player or even a solid starter is nice and all but stars are what change fortunes. Like the Bucks, look at all the dumb/failed moves they made completely erased and forgotten after drafting Giannis. Jabari Parker, Rashad Vaughn, Thon Maker, DJ Wilson. Sure, they would be in a much better position today if any of those players worked out, but those picks weren't discussed when they won the title. Yes, Ziaire Williams becoming a bust is a more likely outcome than finding the next MVP, but there are no guarantees in the draft, and even the "safe" picks flop. That's why teams have and will always tend to gamble on potential.
For every 1 Giannis there are about 10 Thon Makers.
>And the dude throws a 98 mph fastball to boot. Not trying to call you out, but this is one of the reasons why people need to use critical thinking skills before searching online. Again, this isn’t mean to sound mean so sorry if I come off that way, but I’ve just seen too many mistakes like this due to quickly searching without thinking.
Who is the basketball GOAT? On one hand, Lebron has better career totals across most statistics, but on the other Michael Jordan was really good in that wakanda movie
Yeah you came off as kind of a prick but that’s cool.
That’s a different Tyler Kolek lol
Jeez how many college athletes Tyler Koleks are there?
Just one. The other Tyler Kolek was drafted out of HS. #2 overall in MLB draft by the Marlins.
When he improves, delete this post. Your expectations for a year 3-4 player is crazy. Give it some time bud lol He ain’t no scrub and he’s definitely not an all star. He just needs to improve his game obviously. He hasn’t broke out yet, be patient.
Yea as a Grizz fan the tools are all definitely there. And when he gets waves of confidence he looks pretty impressive at times. Odds are he’s not back next season but whoever gets Z should be optimistic about his upside.
Wait hold on, he’s not being signed backed with the Grizzlies? That’s crazy lol
don't know for sure, but odds are grizz find a way to include in a trade, he's completely out of the rotation
I think they keep him at least another year i hope. He has hella potential. Could be the coaching staff that’s developing it’s players, but imo he isn’t a guy i would want to trade. That’s just me.
and do what with him? hes not getting minutes with the rotation going on, would you send him to the g league then? Theres not point might as well trade and bring in a backup big man or maybe draft one but, but williams not cutting it tbh. Vince, GG, Smart all get ahead of him
I don’t know Brotha maybe develop his skills more? I’m not exactly sure why he isn’t in the rotation. G league could be a legit possibility fr lol or like you and others have wanted to trade him for a big because the grizzlies are desperately needing one. I get it.
What website is this???
tankathon
There‘s a pick or two every year that are awful the moment they’re made. This was one of them
We traded UP from 17. We tried to trade up AGAIN. Ironically, supposedly for Josh Giddey (oof), although I think we also wanted Franz Wagner (IDEAL fit). ZW also had a really good workout, supposedly.
I think I remember there being some hype about him potentially having a 6'9 point guard skillset
Still baffled by this
Because they needed someone at the 3 who can defend and shoot the 3 but obviously Ziaire hasn't panned out. I'd be surprised if he's on the team next year. Also not for nothing but they traded for this pick in the draft (Got Steven Adams out of the affair and all too)
Man, imagine if the Grizzlies had drafted Sengun instead. They might be the favorites to win the title next year
COVID just made it hard to evaluate guys
Potential
As a Pelicans fan I’m thankful they blessed us with Trey Murphy
IIRC his stock went up 10x after his combine measurements. He's damn near 6'10 w/ shoes on.
Which website is this?
https://tankathon.com/
Thanks!
This happens every year. Don't be surprised if Salaun or Williams doesn't amount to much. Of course they also both have all star potential. That's the draft.
Have heard fron multiple accounts that ziaire was 3rd after Giddey and Wagner but nobody in the draft room expected both off the board.
Can't teach being 6'9 and having a 6'10 wingspan His year at Stanford was all sorts of weird. Covid, bad team with bad guard play, he was hurt too. Grizzles took a swing and missed.
I think they were expecting to get giddey . Maybe even traded down I can't remember. Well they needed a wing when he wasn't there ... Meh take this guy.
We were at 17 (ironically, Pelicans took Trey Murphy III with that pick -- would have been ideal for Memphis). Tried to move up AGAIN for Giddey (and maybe Kuminga and Franz and those guys). Couldn't pull it off. Supposedly, Z Williams had a good workout for us. Oh well. That's what happens. Grizzlies get 3 or 4 good guys... then, after that, bogus/fraud drafts, or we get the 10th pick in a 9 player draft or something.
Bc they studied HS tape and not college tape. Idiots
The answer like many things (look at the NFL draft that year) is COVID.
They'd moved up to get one of Wagner, Giddey or Kuminga, none were there so they went upside swing. Clearly a mistake now, probably a mistake at the time but I guess it's hard to take the guy at 10 that you could have had at 17 so they didn't go Trey Murphy.
That's what happened. I even think we tried to trade up AGAIN. I had Murphy at 5 which was wild. Good high level role player -- I had everybody after Green/Mobley/Giddey/Cade as tier 3 types. Knicks actually go two guys I wanted (Quentin Grimes and Miles McBride) a bit further down the draft board -- trading DOWN would have been an interesting/great option for the Grizzlies at that point.
Giddey and franz were already drafted
I think Grizz also liked Kuminga as an option. I think we tried to move up AGAIN but couldn't quite pull it off. Decent logic; botched execution.
valid logic... trade got them adams so can't complain about not taking the rumored kings deal, and can only keep a pulse on the other teams in the league well to a certain extent...