Before Ziaire Williams ended up with the Los Angeles Lakers, the New Orleans Pelicans were right there trying to get in the mix.
According to Lakers insider Dan Woike of The Athletic, New Orleans had “made a push in recent days” for the 24-year-old wing before Williams chose Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. The Lakers won out, and the Pelicans were left watching a player they had targeted land elsewhere.
Williams, a California native, had some obvious pull toward Los Angeles, especially with the appeal of Luka Doncic in the mix. That helped make the Lakers the final stop in a chase that the Pelicans were very much involved in.
For New Orleans, the miss may sting, but it also tells you something: they are active, and they are clearly looking at wing help as they sort through what comes next with their final roster spot, pending trades.
Williams comes over after a solid bench season with the Brooklyn Nets, where his defense stood out. Brooklyn was five points better per 100 defensive possessions with him on the floor, one of the strongest marks in the league. He also averaged 1.4 steals per game, showing the kind of activity and disruption that made him appealing.
Offensively, he’s not a pure shooter, but he does fit the three-and-D mold. Williams attempted 4.5 threes per game and hit 34.3% of them last season. That’s not elite shooting, but it’s enough to make him a workable wing option for a team looking to fill that role.
In Other News...
Pelicans Summer League Standouts Are Suddenly Pressuring A Real Roster Call
Three Summer League games in, the Pelicans have already gotten a better look at the kind of young depth that can make a roster decision more complicated than it looked a week ago. Kobe Bufkins 30-point opener made it clear he has the most NBA-ready offensive game of the bunch, while Malik Dia has followed with the kind of scoring and defensive activity that tends to get front offices paying attention. Jaron Pierre Jr. has also flashed shot-making after earning a start on his 24th birthday, giving New Orleans another guard worth tracking as the summer rolls on.
The bigger question is how all of that fits into a backcourt that already has established names ahead of him, because talent alone does not guarantee a clean path to minutes. Dias case is different, since the Pelicans still have room to sort through their two-way picture and his two-way candidacy is now part of the conversation, but the competition is real and the room is not unlimited. For a team trying to balance development with roster clarity, these games have made the next call feel a lot more immediate than it did when Summer League began. [Read more 🡒]