This guy is Cam Reddish. All I have to say. If you think Cam Reddish will be really good at some point, pick Zaire. If you aren''t convinced of Reddish, don''t pick Zaire

Comparison: Cam Reddish

Ceiling: Good Cam Reddish

Floor: Now Cam Reddish

Ziaire Williams is the biggest hit-or-miss prospect in the draft. He has potential to become a star with his shot creating. Despite some weaknesses, I'm starting to rethink him. He should be able to add on weight considering he couldn't during the pandemic because Stanford played in hotel rooms and he has a nice pull-up game and actually played legit defense, unlike Brandon Boston Jr., another lanky score first wing. Still needs to work on explosion and missed a lot of makeable shots though.

Projected draft range: Late Lottery to end of first round

Tier 5 Floor - non-rotation player Bullseye - secondary playmaker, high level starter Ceiling - All star

OFFENSE Pass - Grade: 85 Notes: Williams has a great feel for the game and good vision. Unlike some of the prospects ranked ahead of him, Williams is a pretty good passer in the half-court, and is pretty good in transition as well. He make high level reads, but plays within himself and more importantly makes the right read way more often than not. He makes the extra pass and has the ability to create scoring opportunities for his teammates of his own handle and playmaking ability. He's got great touch, timing, and accuracy on his passes. With all this being said, it's not like he's an orchestrator. He had a few high assist games this year, including one triple-double, but he's just a very good passer within his role for right now. Definitely a very promising part of his game, but he did turn the ball over often when facing high-pressure and would be baiting into tough passes at times resulting in turnovers.

Dribble - Grade: 88 Notes: Williams has a crazy fluid handle for a 6'9 guy. Williams has an unteachable knack for creating space, and it's due to his feel for the game. He changes speeds and has high level footwork to free himself up, and has a whole bunch of pivots to find windows to finish. He takes long strides with the ball, and can change directions at a very high level too. He's got a pretty deep bag of counters for a guy his size, and has shown versatility in his dribble moves. Has potential to be an elite ball-handler for his position, and it's definitely his most intriguing offensive quality and is why I'm betting on him to become a very good offensive player one day.

3pt shooting - Grade: 75 Notes: Williams did not shoot the three well this year, but there are multiple reasons for hope for him to become a solid shooter in the league. He has good mechanics and a good release point. He squares up and holds his follow through. He also shot 80% from the line, which is very encouraging. He needs to prioritize becoming a good C&S shooter first, he took a lot of threes of the dribble this year. Still shot the three at pretty high volume (4 attempts per game), but shot just 30%.

Mid-range shooting - Grade: 85 Notes: Williams mid-range game is just a pleasure to watch. He has an amazing ability to take a dribble then quickly elevate into a mid-range jumper which is nearly impossible to contest, and he is much more comfortable and effective at shooting pull up middies than threes at this point. He is great at getting to his spots and creating space, it's probably where he is most comfortable when creating his own shot on offense. It's the trait that a lot of the elite wing scorers throughout NBA history have possessed, and his footwork and ability on his mid-range game are already at a high level. He should be encouraged to keep shooting this shot when entering the league.

Finishing - Grade: 80 Notes: Williams has a lot of room to improve on his finishing. He struggles significantly to finish in traffic when on the move, and avoids contact as much as possible resulting in him creating much more difficult shots for himself. He does have a decent floater because of this. He is not an explosive leaper off the drive, but he is still a good dunker in transition and is a lob threat. He has great footwork when parked around the rim, and thrives in situations he can pivot and use his length and touch to create scoring opportunities from around the rim, particularly in isolations. Where Williams struggles is in straight line drives to the rim where he has to collide with bigger defenders. This an area that needs much improvement for him to become a truly high-level scorer.

Off-ball playmaking - Grade: 72 Notes: This a part of Williams' offensive game that needs work. Williams is not a great floor spacer right now due to his limited ability to catch and shoot, and isn't utilized as a screener. He's a high IQ guy and an opportunistic cutter, but it's a minimal part of his game. He's a crafty offensive rebounder, but he doesn't crash often.

Offensive Summary: 85 Williams has a very high ceiling on offense. His ability to create his own shot off the dribble at 6'9 is a very rare quality, and one that separates good offense wings from great ones. His handle is advanced way beyond his years, and he's a IQ guy who truly knows how to play the game. He needs to become a solid catch and shoot three point shooter, and he projects to be a decent one at worst (form, ft%). He's going to enter his prime later than the majority of other guys in this class, due to his underdeveloped frame. It will be awhile before Williams becomes comfortable attacking the paint, but he should thrive in isolation rather quickly. Williams will be able to contribute right away, but he's going to struggle early on too. I wouldn't be surprised if he spent some time in the G-league to start off, which is not typical of someone ranked in the top 10, but his ceiling is so high that it's hard to rank him any lower.

Defense Engagement - Grade: 88 Notes: Williams is locked in on the defensive side of the floor, on and off ball. He is always anticipating and looks for ways to get involved in a play, but without compromising his man or defensive positioning.

Containment - Grade: 81 Notes: Williams has quick feet and great technique, which allows him to beat guys to the spot and get good contests utilizing his length. He can get beat by quicker guards though, and really struggles against aggressive and strong penetrators as they just go right into Williams. He's pretty good at staying vertical, but it's tough when guys can bounce off of him easily after initiating contact due to his slight frame. He doesn't have good core strength either, and that combined with his frame really restricts his ability to get to the next level as an on-ball defender despite his quick feet and length.

Team Defense - Grade: 89 Notes: Williams is already a really good off-ball defender. His anticipation and instincts are great, and he's incredibly active in the passing lanes and always on point with his rotations on the perimeter and when helping down low. He's always active and has his head on a swivel. Impressive ability to draw charges for a guy his size and in his position. Just has the right combination of IQ, engagement, and length to be a very good and potentially great off-ball defender. He covers a ton of ground too due to his mobility and length, and has the ability to be in two places at once and be dominant in the gap.

Rim Protection - Grade: 83 Notes: Williams is a very good secondary and help rim protector, but not so much as a primary and on-ball rim protector. Being a good secondary and help rim protector is a very useful quality, and one that is coveted by NBA teams in their wings. Williams also has a pretty quick second jump.

Playmaking - Grade: 82 Notes: Williams is a pretty good playmaker, but he's not aggressive and rarely gambles. He will still get a steal and or block every game, and has a good deflection rate. Williams is unwilling to forgo his defensive positioning for a steal, and won't over contest to go for a block. Williams is a very disciplined defender.

Versatility - Grade: 83 Notes: Williams should be much more versatile than he currently is, but his frame limits him. He should be able to guard all wings when entering the league, and some 2s straight up. Williams is still very switchable, and holds his own most of the time when switched onto guards. He struggles tremendously against strong bigs down low, and could be hunted in the PnR because he struggles to get around screens as well. As Williams improves his frame and core strength, he should become much more versatile on defense and become a true weapon. His ceiling for defensive versatility is very high.

Defensive Rebounding - Grade: 78 Notes: Williams is a solid rebounder, but given his size and position I'd like to see him crash more often. He has a good eye for the ball but won't crash unless he thinks there's a chance that he'll give up and offensive board. Williams prefers to leak out and be an outlet option, which is a good quality and reflects on his high IQ.

Defensive Summary: 85 Notes: Williams defensive ceiling, like on offense, is very high and is largely dependent on his physical growth. He's going to be a plus off-ball defender right away, and has the potential to be a truly great off-ball defender. His on-ball ceiling is also high, but it's much less likely he reaches it. He's a IQ guy and I'd expect Williams to become a pretty good on-ball defender nonetheless. His defensive potential and ability to contribute as an off-ball defender right away makes him an enticing defensive prospect.

Measurables: 85 19 6'9 188 (biggest issue) 6'11 wingspan

Functional Athleticism: 79 Solid open court speed Solid first step Solid vertical elevation Good lateral quickness Lacks explosiveness Lacks core and overall strength

General Thoughts: Ziaire Williams had an injury riddled and poor shooting stint in his one year at Stanford, and this may scare a lot of teams off on draft night. Whatever team ends up with Williams will have to patient with him. Williams ending up in the wrong situation and not being developed the proper way could be detrimental to his career. However, I think Williams has one of the best ceilings in the draft and has a very real shot of reaching it if put in the right situation. Williams seriously has Paul George potential, as he's a 6'8 wing with a great handle for his size, tough shot making ability, and is great on the defensive side of the ball. Williams doesn't have the crazy athleticism (in terms of vertical and explosiveness, still a very athletic prospect) George did when entering the league, but he does have his poise. Williams' actually does have a very solid standing vertical though, and caught quite a few impressive lobs this season. It's going to take a few years for Williams shot making and handle to be consistent in the NBA. Williams will be effective on the defensive end immediately, and should be able to get at least spot minutes on all 30 teams because of it right out of the gate. Williams has a 6'11 wingspan and he maximizes every inch of it. Williams is a very high IQ defender on and off ball. Williams is a better off ball defender now, as he's got great instincts in the passing lanes and playing help around the rim to alter shots. Williams is solid at moving laterally and absorbing contact to draw charges, but struggles to stop strong post players and strong perimeter penetrators due to his lack of core strength and slight frame. The good news is he's already good at the aspects of defense that are difficult to develop. Core strength and working on Williams' overall frame will without a doubt be the main focus of his development right away. While his point of attack defense will be a challenge for him at first, I expect him to get a lot deflections, alter shots, and record a bunch of stocks from day 1 (Williams sported a 3.9% stocks percentage this year). Williams is good at utilizing his length to tip out rebounds to his teammate, and he's also pretty good following the natural flight of the ball and timing his crashes. Due to his slight frame, he's not physical rebounder and won't box guys out but uses his length and IQ to be productive (which you can say about basically every part of William's game). Offensively, Williams will be a 3 level scorer. Williams has a quick first step, great touch around the rim, and a knack for creating space on jumpers. He only shot 30% from three this season, but I expect him to shoot better in the NBA. In the NBA much more of his 3 point looks will be C&S and off of dribble penetration drive and kicks or in transition. Williams makes high level reads and is a pretty good passer for his position. Williams really knows how to play, and more importantly always plays at his pace without being a ball stopper. Williams combination of touch, handle, IQ, and length make him an immensely gifted offensive player. The question is if and how quickly Williams' can put it all together, and if he can be consistent. I predict Williams will see gradual improvements throughout his career and I'd bet on Williams eventually getting a point of a 3rd option on a championship contending team. Stanford as a team had a wacky season in general, and Williams even more so. Stanford players had to stay in hotels throughout the majority of the season due to Covid issues. They had very limited practice time and had guys in and out of the lineup. Stanford only got to play 6 home games all season. Williams also suffered two deaths in the family, along with a couple nagging injuries (nothing to be concerned about long term). I believe in Williams' as a player and am giving him the benefit of the doubt after a season where it was impossible for him to find a rhythm. Williams had a great start to the season when everything was a bit more normal, including one game where he had the second triple double in Cardinal history. I typically try to balance eye test and analytics when evaluating prospects, but I'm betting on the eye test with Williams' big time. When watching at his best, it's easy to see him being one the next great wings in the NBA despite what his rough shooting numbers from this outlier season may say. I'd bet Williams draft range being from 12-28, and I'm excited and anxious to see where he ends up.

Comparisons: DeAndre Hunter, Jae Crowder, Jarrett Culver

Williams has a injury prone like MPJ and Greg Oden. His stock dropped a lot so that is tough for him to be the same player he used to.

Positives

-A pretty solid athlete, fluid and fairly explosive, pretty mobile, all at 6''8, very "long" player

-Elite shot creating potential, shifty with great footwork, this was by far the best part of his scoring at Stanford, can make a pull-up jumper from anywhere, most effective attacking after a jab-step or a pump fake and shooting a 2 pointer, can make a mid-range jumper against any contest due to length, shot better off the dribble than off the catch from 3

-3 point jumper will need some work, but solid mechanics + good FT% makes you believe he will be a good shooter in the NBA

-A decent playmaker, made some really good reads in the PnR, surprisingly precise, especially to the roll man, paired with his shot-making could make him a real secondary creator

-Extremely high potential on defense, can switch on guards and probably guard 1-4 if he gains some weight, very laterally quick, his length bothers shooters (blocked a lot of 3 pointers), a problem when locked in

-Can be a good help defender, rotated nicely most of the time leading to blocked shots and charges

Negatives

-Struggled significantly at the rim, lacks a bit of explosiveness off one foot, shied away from contact and settled for runners or jumpers, needs to be more physical, ++gaining weight should be the priority++

-Ineffectiveness at the rim sometimes led to him being hesitant to drive to the rim off a PnR, rarely turned the corner and finished

-Needs to take care of the ball better, picked up a bunch of turnovers in traffic, handles need to be a lot tighter for a shot creator, decision-making still questionable, more patience will be necessary

-His jumper needs to be more consistent, especially if he never becomes a good finisher, shot in the 20s off the catch, becoming a servicable 3 and D player will be important if his shot creation never reaches it''s potential, making his release a bit faster and more consistent should fix this, nothing wrong mechanically

-Needs to be a bit more consistent and focused on defense, some slight lapses like ball-watching or getting stuck on a screen should be eliminated with time

Likely range: 8-25

Pro Comparison: Cam Reddish

Stats: 10.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 47.3% TS, 29.1%(4A) 3pt

19 yrs old, 6''8", SF, 185 lbs

Recruit(2020): 5 star recruit, Rank: 8, Rank SF: 3

Tier 3 Prospect

He''s literally 2018 Cam Reddish. You''re looking at Cam Reddish. If Ziaire continues to flounder, he''ll likely fall down boards- but I''d imagine his upside keeps him in the lottery just like Reddish''s did.

Comps: Cam Reddish