Grizzlies close the book on disastrous lottery pick

The Memphis Grizzlies had high hopes for forward Ziaire Williams when they traded up to draft him in 2021. Three years later, it cost them a second-round pick just to get rid of him.

Williams started 50 games in his three seasons with the Grizzlies, but never was able to reach the potential that Memphis saw when they made him the No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 draft. He averaged 7.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 turnovers during his time with the Grizzlies, with one huge weakness dooming him: He couldn't shoot.

He's a 30.1% shooter from three-point range, a shockingly bad number for a player who shoots better than 80% from the free-throw line. But Williams couldn't make threes from the closer college line either, and by his final season in Memphis, he couldn't even hit from the mid-range, making fewer than 30% of his shots between three and 16 feet of the basket.

Memphis made some shrewd draft picks when they added Ja Morant (No. 2 pick), Jaren Jackson Jr. (No. 4) and Desmond Bane (No. 30) from 2018-20. But since then, the franchise has failed to replenish its talent despite having plenty of draft resources.

In 2022, the Grizzlies traded two first-round picks to move up for No. 19 pick Jake LaRavia, a forward who has turned in two unimpressive years with the team. They also dealt De'Anthony Melton to get the No. 23 pick, David Roddy, who the Grizzlies salary-dumped at the 2024 trade deadline after he averaged 8.4 points in 23.2 minutes per game, shooting a dismal 30% from behind the arc.

Then, last summer, Memphis sent backup point guard Tyus Jones and first-round picks in 2023 and 2024 to get Marcus Smart, a former Defensive Player of the Year who, wait for it, can't make threes. Now they're banking on 7-foot-4 Zach Edey, who like Williams and Roddy was picked much higher (No. 9) than anyone expected.

When he first took over as Grizzlies GM in 2019, Zach Kleiman could do no wrong. Now, he's tried a lot of big draft swings and whiffed on nearly all of them. With Morant, Jackson and Bane making big money, it's the worst time for Memphis to be getting nothing from their draft picks.

With Williams, though, it's less than nothing. He's been so bad, the Grizzlies had to attach a second-round pick just to give him away.