It’s official, the Memphis Grizzlies have made their first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Surprisingly, they didn’t move up at all. Instead, Memphis drafted with the 10th-overall that they acquired from the New Orleans Pelicans in one of the biggest trades of the offseason thus far. With it, they took one of the most unexpected prospects on the list.
That prospect is Ziaire Williams, a wing out of Stanford.
Williams didn’t have an amazing year in college, where he was originally projected to be one of the best players in the country. That lack of production, including poor 3-point shooting, sent him further down in the NBA Draft than expected. Clearly, the Grizzlies didn’t care about a single off-year, as they picked him up in the draft anyway.
Ziaire Williams is determined to form a Lob City combination alongside Ja Morant
You can be upset about this pick if you want but just remember — not everything is as simple as it may seem. Williams must have been eyed down by a team that drafted before the 17th-overall pick, causing the Grizzlies to move up and select him. If anything, a “reach” for the Stanford wing should be looked at as a confident pick by Memphis.
They would not have traded up so far if they weren’t determined to get a guy that they wanted.
In fact, it’s time for Grizzlies fans to start getting excited, as Williams is already showing a ton of enthusiasm toward coming to Beale Street to play basketball. Here’s what he said in his post-draft interview.
“If he throws up the lob, Imma go get it”
— Evan Barnes (@evan_b) July 30, 2021
Ziaire Williams is already hyped to play with Ja Morant. Williams said it’s the perfect organization for him and he won’t take it for granted.
“I’m gonna give it my all”
Williams couldn’t help but mention lob opportunities between himself and Ja Morant, which could make an exciting Grizzlies backcourt even more tantalizing to watch. Williams will add to Morant’s explosive play-ability with his 39-inch vertical.
The best part? This one-two combination doesn’t go one way in particular.
As we know, Ja Morant can jump with anybody in the league. Even though he’s more likely to be tossing the lobs to Williams, he may be the finisher in some of these situations. Williams is a capable passer, so if Morant springs open in transition, there’s no reason that we shouldn’t see Williams-to-Morant lobs as well.
Ziaire also mentioned the fact that he’s going to give it his all, which is the most important thing at the end of the day. Williams is a hard worker on both ends of the ball, and with a strong work ethic, could help out a poor Grizzlies perimeter defense in 2021.
Hopefully, he can develop into the final piece of the Grizzlies starting lineup.