Since being selected 10 overall by the Memphis Grizzlies back in 2021, Ziaire Williams has continued to underwhelm and, ultimately, fall short of living up to draft day expectations.
While he has certainly shown flashes of becoming a high-upside, 3-and-D contributor, it has simply come at too sporadic of a rate for coach Taylor Jenkins to entrust him with the keys to the future of their wing position.
In fact, now in year three, we see him even falling behind the likes of initially lesser-regarded prospects in Vince Williams Jr. and GG Jackson on the depth chart, which has some believing that, come Thursday's deadline, GM Zach Kleiman could opt to shop Williams around on the trade block.
Realistic trade destinations for Memphis Grizzlies wing, Ziaire Williams
Despite his inconsistencies, Williams is still a 22-year-old, recently selected lottery pick who is attached to a rooke-scale contract through 2024-25.
Because of this, if he is shopped before February 8, there are likely to be several rival teams that will be interested in attaining his services, with a few, in particular, being viewed as more realistic landing spots than others.
3. San Antonio Spurs
When it comes to teams that may be willing to take a shot on the raw talents of Ziaire Williams, in all likelihood they'll be ones who find themselves amid a rebuilding phase and who have a primary focus on developing young ballers who possess at least some semblance of promise.
As far as the Western Conference picture is concerned, the club that personifies such a description is the 10-40 San Antonio Spurs.
Interestingly enough, when looking at their roster it's evident that they're a unit chock full of long and lengthy players with two-way potential.
Perhaps they'd be willing to take a flier on yet another individual with such a build and skill-set?
Ziaire Williams steal and slam pic.twitter.com/J1qOlRtgje
— eric (@EricTweetsNBA) January 14, 2024
Measuring in at 6-foot-9 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, Williams covers a ton of ground with his reach alone, while his underrated brand of athleticism provides him with serious potential to cover any position from the one down to the four.
Him thrust into a young core already consisting of Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and, of course, Victor Wembenyama could have the makings of becoming a lethally long and defensively stingy group, while having the great Gregg Popovich leading the charge on the sidelines could only stand to aid in the excitment of him reaching his full potential.