The Lakers have locked in another piece of their reshaped roster, agreeing to a one-year, $3 million deal with former Nets forward Ziaire Williams. The move gives Los Angeles a 24-year-old wing who last season put up 10.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals while shooting 42.5% from the field and 34.3% from three.
Williams brings the kind of profile teams covet on the wing: an athletic lob threat who can also stretch the floor. That combination fits neatly into the Lakers’ push for more size, speed and versatility.
Here’s how the roster stacks up now:
Point Guards: Luka Doncic, Collin Sexton, Bronny James
Shooting Guards: Austin Reaves, Cameron Carr, Jaden Hardy
Small Forwards: Quentin Grimes, Dalton Knecht, Ziaire Williams
Power Forwards: Jake LaRavia, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Jarred Vanderbilt, Adou Thiero
Centers: Walker Kessler, Kevon Looney
With Williams in the fold, the Lakers have now filled all 15 roster spots for next season. Any further moves would have to come through trades or two-way contracts. The signing also reunites Williams with his high school teammate, Bronny James.
Even with the roster full, the Lakers do not appear to be done chasing Jonathan Kuminga. That was the message from ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania, who reported that Los Angeles is still in the mix for the forward while breaking the Williams news.
“Lakers reach a deal with Williams and CAA Co-Head of Basketball Aaron Mintz to address their wing depth - and LA continues to strongly pursue Jonathan Kuminga as a potential starting forward, sources tell ESPN. Williams averaged 10.2 points and 22.9 minutes for the Nets last season and enters his sixth campaign,” wrote Charania.
Dan Woike of The Athletic backed up that idea, noting that people inside the organization did not view the two pursuits as mutually exclusive.
“There are definitely people in the Lakers organization who thought it wasn’t an either/or situation with Ziaire Williams and Jonathan Kuminga. The team has spent its summer adding youth, depth, and athleticism,” Woike wrote on X.
For now, the Williams signing takes the Lakers’ two-year, $20 million offer to Kuminga off the table, though the report says he was not expected to take it anyway. If Los Angeles wants to keep pushing there, it would need to clear Jarred Vanderbilt’s contract in a way that brings back enough value to help complete a sign-and-trade with the Hawks, possibly in a three-team setup.
Williams is not being treated as a stand-in for Jake LaRavia in the projected starting lineup, either. Kuminga would be the player with that kind of role potential.
So the Lakers’ roster picture is mostly set, at least for now, with Williams joining what appears to be the team’s 15-man group for the 2026-27 season.
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