Ziaire Williams is ready for more

If you're team "no-trade" for the Memphis Grizzlies, you must be team "Ziaire Williams"

This time of year there is always commotion regarding trades. Teams that are underachieving trying to decide if they’re sellers (the Toronto Raptors being this year’s finest example), teams that need to shore up major weaknesses (point guard for the Clippers, anyone able to help Luka Doncic for the Dallas Mavericks)…the rumors are robust, and the trade machine gears are grinding.

Then, there are the Memphis Grizzlies - conspicuous by their absence from the noise, but not surprisingly so.

The hottest team in the entire National Basketball Association, the Memphis Grizzlies have won 10 games in a row - their most recent victory against the Phoenix Suns avenging the last defeat they suffered several weeks ago. Behind superstar efforts from Ja Morant and a supporting cast led by All-Star level contributors Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane, the Grizzlies look the part of NBA Finals contender. And yet, there are calls by some for a move to fortify the rotation - especially the end of it - before a serious playoff run can be fully believed in.

This is understandable, to an extent. The Memphis Grizzlies continue to not operate like a traditional contender. No actual move to go anywhere near “all-in” on this championship opening has happened. And it probably won’t, if recent history is to be believed - the last time this front office led by Zach Kleiman made a mid-season deal of note it was in February of 2020, in the beginnings of the Memphis “rebuild”, taking a swing on a health-concern wing in Justise Winslow.

No such move is happening now. It doesn’t have to, either - if the Grizzlies allow their best current prospect the continued chance to show what he is capable of.

Ziaire Williams is a major piece of the future of the Memphis Grizzlies. At just 21-years-old, the NBA sophomore wing has all the potential in the world. 6’8” and seemingly still growing, Ziaire possesses the size on the perimeter every team in the league craves while being able to play every position in the backcourt. He has developed as a creator for himself and others off the dribble through reps in Summer League play and as a rookie was asked to defend some of the NBA’s best scorers.

He was asked to do so much, so early in his career - more than he was likely to actually be able to do at a high level. And he struggled early as a result, ranking as one of the NBA’s worst rotation players half way through his rookie season. But he learned and grew and developed as he got back from injury and found himself a meaningful contributor on a possible title contender.

Sound familiar?

The sequel, hopefully, will be more promising than the original. It’s a mixed bag so far in a limited sample size. While Ziaire is still scoring at a high level at the rim (78%, 94th percentile) and is attempting more of his shots in that area (34% of his attempts, compared to 22% last season), he is currently struggling from beyond the arc (28%). Considering he was a 32% three point shooter last season and a 29% scorer from three in college while the improvement may not be drastic, Ziaire should do somewhat better in that department.

Truth be told, the current struggles go beyond just the shooting from three. Ziaire is currently posting a -3.9 net rating per Cleaning the Glass, but that doesn’t tell the entire story of Ziaire so far. The Grizzlies offense is more efficient with Williams on the floor (+1.5 in eFG%) and opponents shoot worse (-1.8% in eFG) when Ziaire is playing defense.

His block and steal percentages are also improved from last season, a development that hopefully continues considering how Memphis is worse in those respective departments this season than they were in the 2021-2022 campaign. But his turnover rate of 14.4% is among the worst in the NBA.

He remains a work in progress - a player trying to find his footing after an lengthy absence from injury. But he was able to be a meaningful rotation player in a similar situation last season. This time around, Memphis will need more.

So it’s time to see if he’s capable of it.

So much of the ceiling of this Grizzlies team is connected to what Ziaire can be on both ends of the floor. Offensively, it cannot be just Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks scoring on the perimeter and acting as secondary facilitators for 48 straight minutes. Ziaire’s athleticism and frame allow him to be a defensive weapon - one that can carry some of the load for Brooks at times.

But beyond Ziaire, Memphis is looking at leaning on John Konchar and rookie David Roddy for such contributions. And while Konchar is a malleable rotation piece capable of playing well alongside most, and Roddy has shown Ziaire-esque improvements in his rookie season, depending on either to be key cogs in a championship machine is unprecedented at best, and wishful thinking at worst.

If a trade is not on the horizon - and it likely is not - Ziaire must be “the guy” as the wing reserve. He has to get more significant run (his most minutes per game this season have occurred across the last 10 days, which is a good start) to see if while he physically feels ready to go, can he reconnect with the player that made meaningful growth last season and take another step forward. Only he possesses the combination of physical upside and experience required to be a true impact player in a postseason situation.

The trade deadline is weeks away. The Grizzlies are on the precipice of a wide open championship window. Just how much space exists in that opening will be directly determined by how Ziaire Williams responds in the games ahead - particularly these next six to close out January, starting tonight against the Cavaliers. The Memphis roster is expertly constructed. The question remains in do they have enough title contributors at the end of a potential playoff rotation, beyond just Tyus Jones and Brandon Clarke - who cannot do it alone.

Is Ziaire ready to be the third “reserve” man? Memphis has to find out. And soon.