The Brooklyn Nets had reasons for moving on from Ziaire Williams this offseason, but his early run with the Los Angeles Lakers is already putting that choice under a brighter light.
Williams spent two seasons in Brooklyn after arriving from the Memphis Grizzlies, and he left behind the kind of mixed-but-promising resume that makes roster decisions tricky. He showed athleticism, hustle, and defensive versatility, even if the shooting never fully settled in. There was enough there to see why the Nets might have wanted to keep him in the mix, but there was also a case for giving more minutes to younger players with a different developmental ceiling.
Brooklyn went the other way. The roster was crowded, the front office had to make hard calls, and Williams was the odd man out.
At the time, that was understandable. Now, after what he’s done in Los Angeles, it looks a lot more debatable.
Through nine games with the Lakers, Williams is averaging 11.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.4 steals in 24.6 minutes per game. He’s also shooting 54.5% from the field and 45.2% from three-point range, which is a major jump from what he showed in Brooklyn.
His field goal percentage is up by 12 percentage points, and his three-point mark has climbed nearly 11 percentage points. For a player who never really locked in as a dependable outside shooter with the Nets, that’s a meaningful change.
Nine games is still a tiny sample, so nobody should rush to crown this a long-term breakout. But Williams is clearly making the most of his new opportunity, and the fit looks cleaner in Los Angeles.
Playing next to Luka Dončić gives him something he didn’t always have in Brooklyn: a superstar playmaker who can bend defenses and create open looks. Dončić draws attention, moves the ball to shooters, and makes life easier for players who can work off the ball. That setup suits Williams’ athleticism and his improved perimeter shooting.
None of that means the Lakers have uncovered a finished product. Williams still has to show he can keep this efficiency going, and his slight frame can make certain defensive matchups a problem. A hot start on offense doesn’t erase the rest of the evaluation.
But it does make the Nets’ decision harder to ignore, especially with Brooklyn’s defense already showing cracks.
The Nets also traded Nic Claxton this offseason, taking away a major source of rim protection and rebounding. Williams wasn’t going to replace that kind of interior impact, but he did offer perimeter athleticism and versatility on the defensive end. Losing both players leaves Brooklyn with holes to fill, and not every one of them has an obvious answer.
That said, keeping Williams wouldn’t have solved everything. The Nets still need better guard play, a reliable ball-handler who can create advantages, and more size and rim protection. Those were real factors in the decision-making process, along with the desire to give younger players more runway.
So no, it’s still too early to call this a mistake. The Lakers’ numbers could flatten out, and Brooklyn had legitimate reasons for choosing a different path. Still, Williams is giving Los Angeles useful production, and the Nets could use some of the same ingredients right now.
For a player who flashed enough in Brooklyn to stay interesting, this start is enough to make you wonder what might have happened if the Nets had found a way to keep him around.
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