JJ Redick Has Strong Belief In Ziaire Williams

Ziaire Williams has left preseason as a prime candidate to start on Opening Night for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Golden State Warriors. Despite playing only two games, he showed youthful energy and played well as a slasher alongside Luka Doncic.

Head coach JJ Redick took notice of Williams’ strong play, as he provided necessary spark on both ends of the floor. Redick has liked the California native for a while and believes there is more room for growth this season.

“My two years of coaching, I’ve liked him when we played against him,” Redick said of Williams. “I think he has a really good intent on the defensive end and I think he loves the challenge of guarding other teams’ star players. And has the physical tools to do that, seemed like every time we played against Brooklyn he made a lot of shots too. If you look at his catch and shoot numbers and open three numbers the last couple of years, they’ve been consistent.

“Beyond that, I met with him in Vegas for that minicamp. He had voluntarily did a workout the day before I got there. Think it was Greg [St. Jean], RP [Rob Pelinka] and maybe one other person from our organization, and looked great. I had a great meeting with him and think everybody in our building that’s been around him for the last six to eight weeks just recognizes what a special human being he is and I really believe in him as a player. I think he has a lot of room to grow still, which is exciting for all of us.”

The wing position is always in demand in today’s NBA, and the Lakers have lacked in that department in recent years. Having a youthful forward with upside is an exciting player for Redick to develop.

Additionally, Williams gets to play back home and he knows what kind of opportunity he has ahead of him. Hopefully, this flier pays off for Pelinka and company, as there have already been encouraging signs with his preseason play.

Ziaire Williams discusses how he can complement Luka Doncic

Williams finds himself in a winning position for the first time in his young career and he is eager to be a part of a championship contender. To make himself useful, he needs to mesh with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, and one piece of that is defense.

The 25-year-old is aware of what he needs to do when surrounded by two dynamic playmakers and he shared how he can complement Doncic by playing off him.