Ziaire Williams welcomed a fresh start this season after the Memphis Grizzlies shipped him to the Brooklyn Nets in a salary dump. The former top-10 pick had a career-best year, inspiring hope that he can secure a spot in an NBA rotation long-term.
Entering the first free agency of his career, he hopes he'll have a chance to do it with the Nets.
“It's super exciting. I gave it all I had this year, so I don't have any regrets. Hopefully, I’m back here. I feel like Brooklyn is the best place for me,” Williams said. “Just the way the staff has pushed me and held me to a higher standard. I know you can't really find that everywhere in the NBA and I definitely didn't take it for granted… I’ve made some lifelong friends and people who I call my fapmily and my brothers now. Hopefully, we get to run it back.”
Ziaire Williams on his free agency:
“Hopefully I’m back here. I feel like Brooklyn is the best place for me… I’ve made some lifelong friends and people who I call my family and my brothers now.” pic.twitter.com/SqQDWepJB9
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) April 14, 2025
At 6-foot-9 with a seven-foot wingspan and above-average athleticism, Williams' three-and-D potential solidified his place as a top-10 pick in the 2021 draft. However, he struggled to find his shooting stroke in Memphis, converting 30.1 percent of his three-point attempts over three seasons.
Following an offseason that featured a mechanical tweak to his three-point stroke, Williams shot 34.1 percent from deep on career-high volume with Brooklyn. That improvement, along with his defensive capabilities, could land him another contract with the rebuilding squad.
Ziaire Williams entering free agency after career-best season with Nets
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Williams was highly complimentary of Brooklyn's coaching staff and his veteran teammates throughout his first season with the team. They have offered similar praise for the 23-year-old's improvement and approach to the game.
“He’s a great teammate. He’s very reliable. Somebody that you can always talk to,” Cam Johnson said of Williams. “In game situations, he has a very good understanding of the game. You can tell that he’s paid a lot of attention to smaller details… So he’s kind of making that transition into being a little more of a veteran presence.
“The one thing that stood out to me from the beginning was his ability to defend, his ability to pressure the ball, disrupt, and use his length. That was almost a surprise there. And then offensively, he has a lot more to his game than I thought beforehand. I think his shooting has developed a lot as the season went on… Wherever he is, if it’s here or anywhere else, I think he’s gonna continue to take strides… He’s very young, and he has a lot of potential that he can tap into. There’s a lot there. As a scorer, as a shooter, as a defender, and an overall playmaker. So I’m encouraged for his future.”
Williams will have an $8.35 million qualifying offer this summer, which Brooklyn is expected to decline, making him an unrestricted free agent. The Nets will have no shortage of flexibility to re-sign the young wing. They are the NBA's only team projected to have significant cap space, with over $50 million available.
