Re-drafting the 2021 NBA Draft — 14. Ziaire Williams, Warriors
Ziaire Williams started 31 of 62 appearances for the Grizzlies. He’s another 20-year-old who made a much bigger impact for a contender than initially anticipated. The Warriors would happily take him here, giving themselves another impactful wing defender who can hit 3s and punish rotating defenses.
A rocky freshman season at Stanford left a lot of scouts cold on Williams. He was inefficient and his frame is rail-thin. Questions of his defensive role were valid, not to mention his ability to handle the physicality of NBA defenses on the other end. Now, he’s playing extended minutes and handling tough assignments in the postseason. He still has to improve his consistency on offense, but the 3-point mechanics are bankable and his flashes of shot-making potential are tantalizing.
The Warriors are essentially replacing Moody with the closest thing left in the draft. 3-and-D wings make the world go ’round in the modern NBA, and Williams has all the trappings of an excellent two-way wing who could grow into something more over time.