Friday afternoon, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that the Memphis Grizzlies had reached an agreement to send forward Ziaire Williams to the Brooklyn Nets in what many are viewing as a salary dump move.
Though certainly seen more as a strategic transaction than anything else, as Zach Kleiman and company have managed to part ways with the former lottery-pick's $6.1 million guaranteed salary for this coming season, losing a player and, on a deeper level, a friend in a trade is never an easy thing for players to go through.
Despite his on-court inconsistencies throughout his three-year tenure in Grind City, Williams carved out a regular role within coach Taylor Jenkins' rotation and established well-documented, close-knit relationships with his Grizzlies cohorts along the way.
One of the players he seemed to have developed a rather close bond with is superstar guard Ja Morant, who, after receiving word of the trade, headed to his personal X account (previously Twitter) to share a public send-off message to his, now, former teammate.
Grizzlies star Ja Morant issues public reaction to Ziaire Williams trade
🎱♾️
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) July 19, 2024
On his personal Instagram account, Morant would follow up by crafting a string of reactionary posts to his story, with the first being an image of him and Williams smiling alongside one another with the caption reading "this hurt ngl. my la bruddaaa."
Ja Morant ↗️ Ziaire Williams alley-oop slam!
— NBA (@NBA) January 6, 2024
📺 Lakers-Grizzlies | Live on ESPN pic.twitter.com/mj5yPcjOHt
Williams heads to Brooklyn attached to the final year of his rookie-scale contract and fresh off a 2023-24 campaign where he wrapped with averages of 8.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists through 51 games played.
Still only 22 years old and a recent top-10 NBA Draft selection, the rebuilding Nets are likely looking at the move as a buy-low opportunity for them to hone the forward's craft and pull out the two-way potential that the long, lengthy, and innately athletic forward has shown flashes of, though has failed to display on a consistent basis since joining on with the Grizzlies back in 2021.