Grizzlies wing dishes on personal improvements amid training camp
By Mark Nilon
Memphis Grizzlies training camp is well underway, with Friday, October 6 marking the team’s fourth day holding official practices.
This point in the preseason is always viewed as a great time for players to get back into the swing of things on the court and for youngsters to showcase early signs of improvement compared to the years prior.
For Ziaire Williams, this latter mindset certainly seems to be the focus as he is looking to take on a larger role within head coach Taylor Jenkins’ scheme heading into year three.
In a one-on-one interview with Grind City Media’s Jessica Benson following Thursday’s third practice, the 22-year-old discussed what exactly he has tried to demonstrate during these early stages of camp.
Ziaire Williams dishes on what he has tried to showcase at Grizzlies camp
"“Just starting off with being more confident more than anything,” Williams said. “Shooting shots I know I can make, working hard on the defensive end [and] offensive end, crashing the boards — one thing we struggled in last year. [I’m] just trying to do all the little things.”"
energy ENERGY energy @jessbensontv chops it up with @Ziaire after day 3 of training camp 🎙
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) October 6, 2023
presented by @OrthoSouth_ pic.twitter.com/NJxc4Jg5js
Since being selected 10 overall back in the 2021 NBA Draft, it has been a rather rough and inconsistent go for the likes of Williams.
Despite putting forth a solid rookie campaign, he objectively regressed all across the board during his injury-plagued sophomore 2022-23 season as he posted underwhelming averages of 5.7 points and 2.1 rebounds on 42.9 percent shooting from the field and 25.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
As a result, there are some who have suggested the Grizzlies should simply cut their losses and give up on developing him by trading him away while he still has the allure of being a recent lottery pick.
However, Williams seems to be motivated heading into year number three, and, with Dillon Brooks now in Houston, he has a real chance of contending for the team’s starting wing position come opening night.
