After three quiet seasons, the Memphis Grizzlies have moved on from 2021 No. 10 pick Ziaire Williams, trading him to the Brooklyn Nets. According to ESPN senior insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Grizzlies will send Williams and a 2030 second-round pick to the Nets for Mamadi Diakite and the draft rights to Nemanja Dangubic.
The Nets will also send the Grizzlies the draft rights to Nemanja Dangubic, the 54th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, sources said.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 19, 2024
At just 22 years old, Williams still has time to figure out his game. However, the raw forward is coming up on his contract year without having shown much to that point. Indeed, the Grizzlies may not have even extended him a qualifying offer next offseason so that he’d be a restricted free agent. Nonetheless, Williams’s flashes of two-way potential were exciting. As a result, it’s not quite a cause for celebration.
Instead, it was a chess move made by a team ready to make noise in the playoffs once again.
Grizzlies Make Decision On Ziaire Williams, Bring In Reinforcements
Diakite has been in the league since 2020-21, winning a ring with the Milwaukee Bucks his first season in the league.
Frankly, he didn’t have to do much to help the Bucks get there. Diakate played 14 games his rookie season, averaging 3.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks in 10.1 minutes per game. The Virginia product also started in Milwaukee’s regular season finale, tallying 13 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and one block in a six-point loss to the Chicago Bulls.
A lanky and athletic stretch-big, Diakite impacts the game at both ends. He’s streaky, so the Grizzlies may hope it doesn’t come to it. However, the 27-year-old adds depth to the roster at both the power forward and center positions. As both Jaren Jackson Jr. and 2024 No. 9 pick Zach Edey may miss games due to injury, that isn’t inconsequential.
Maybe He Won’t, But Maybe He Will
Dangubic, 31, has yet to play an NBA game.
Since being drafted with the 54th overall pick in 2014, the Serbian guard has played for Crvena zvezda and Partizan. In his 10-year career, he spent four seasons apiece with both teams (with a one-year gap in Spain with Estudiantes). However, he’s played in the Greek Basketball League for the past two seasons, first with Promitheas and then Peristeri.
In 2023-24, Dangubic averaged 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.7 steals in 20.0 minutes per game. Though those numbers are unspectacular, he shot a blistering 49.1 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from 3. Interestingly, he has at least five seasons shooting at least 39 percent from 3.
He’s unlikely to ever make the jump to the NBA. Furthermore, his numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt given his level of competition. With that being said, perhaps his 3-point shooting could prove valuable to the Grizzlies one day.
