With the start of the 2026-27 NBA regular season just hours away, forward Ziaire Williams has a chance at being in the Los Angeles Lakers' starting lineup when they play their first game versus the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. In fact, one reporter has pretty much predicted that Williams will be in the starting five, based on what he said he has heard through "back channels."
Even if Williams will instead be coming off the bench, he will be expected to play a considerable number of minutes this season. He was very crisp offensively during the preseason, making all five of his 3-point attempts, and he is an active, versatile and disruptive defender.
Coach JJ Redick talked recently about his experiences coaching against Williams when the forward was a member of the Brooklyn Nets the last two seasons and getting to know him once he joined the Lakers this summer.
“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 [Las] Vegas when we were there for our vet minicamp. He had voluntarily done a workout the day before I got there for, I 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 has 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's got a lot of room to grow still, which is exciting for all of us.”
A tall wing or forward who is an athletic two-way player is seen by many as the Lakers' biggest roster need right now. If Williams gets the nod to be a starter and consistently shoots well from 3-point range and finds other ways to contribute points here and there in L.A.'s halfcourt offense, he could alleviate the need for a trade to obtain that type of player.
Williams averaged 10.2 points in 22.9 minutes a game while shooting 34.3% from 3-point range last season. While he was very reliable in terms of hitting wide-open 3-pointers, he struggled to hit 3-pointers when he wasn't wide open, and improving his shooting percentage in such situations will be a huge key to his success in Los Angeles.
This article originally appeared on Lakers Wire: JJ Redick sounds like he's been impressed with Ziaire Williams