It’s uncertain what Zaire Williams could become, and it’s unclear if the Nets will pick up his option next season.
What is abundantly clear is that the young forward is playing the best basketball of his career and is making his case as part of the franchise’s rebuild.
“He’s taken advantage of all these opportunities,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. “He’s embraced what we’re doing and the process, which is the best thing. He understands. He’s talking about the right things.” “I’m happy for him, I saw what I had to see. I also want him to go through this phase [remaining] A stretch of eight matches.
“So, he’s embraced every situation. I’m very happy with what I’ve seen from him, and then we’ll make decisions when we have to. Obviously it’s a very collaborative situation here. I’m not the one who makes decisions on the roster, but I’m always asked, and right now, we’re in a good place. The process is the best thing; it’s just going through it.”
Williams did not play (coach’s decision) in Sunday’s 116-99 win over the Kings at Barclays Center.
The Nets are going through the painful process of selecting high lottery picks this season as well as developing the young players they already have.
They need to see who is worth keeping and separate the wheat from the chaff.
Williams, 24, has looked like wheat this month.
He entered Sunday’s tank-fest against Sacramento having started his last five games, averaging 17.2 points and 2.8 steals on .528/.500/.821 splits.
In his last 12 games since March 3, he averaged 14.3 points and 2.1 steals on .495/.488/.857, the best month of his NBA career.
With the Nets starting to play off the back of the bench, Williams had not played in any of the previous five quarters and just one of the last 10.
Has he really done enough to convince general manager Sean Marks to pick up his $6.25 million team option for next season?
“He’s playing well,” Fernandez said. “And I’m so proud of him – how he embraces every situation and opportunity, how professional he is and how much he supports his teammates, challenges them, encourages them and leads by example.
“It was great to see him, not just because he scores more or less. Obviously I’ve been coaching more games for him because it’s also good to see what he can do in those situations, isn’t it? It’s an opportunity for everyone, but he embraced and took advantage of every opportunity.”
Williams’ offense has been more efficient — a career-high .588 on true shooting — by having higher 3 value. He kept his dribbling to a minimum, and was successful in using a cut-and-shoot approach.
He has always been known as a defender but plays less down the stretch, as a small forward and even as a shooting guard. Williams disrupted passing lanes and entered Sunday eighth in the NBA in steals per 36 minutes and per 100 possessions.
“The way he shines is when he is very aggressive defensively, and then he keeps it simple offensively and [takes] “This has reached a higher level. Even on that day, I know I’m running more plays for him but that doesn’t mean he’s dribbling 15 times and just making plays. I’m just running side plays for him,” Fernandes said.
“He’s fast, he’s simple, he plays the pick-and-roll, and he’s either playing to score or kicking the ball. So getting the ball in his hands, it’s good. I didn’t do that a lot, but I still want to see him being decisive, hitting three-pointers, getting to the rim. But then, his superhuman strength for what he did against the Lakers — guarding the best player on the court, disrupting, getting deflections, all those things that gave the team energy and that’s when ‘Z’ is at his best.”