The financial implications of trading Ziaire Williams

The Memphis Grizzlies traded Ziaire Williams to the Brooklyn Nets in a move that should help their salary cap flexibility to bring back Luke Kennard.

Yesterday, the Memphis Grizzlies traded Ziaire Williams to the Brooklyn Nets for Mamadi Diakite. The Grizzlies also included a 2030 second-round pick via the Dallas Mavericks, and they received the draft rights to Nemanja Dangubic — the 54th pick in the 2014 draft.

This trade wasn’t unexpected. The Grizzlies needed to shed money if they wanted to re-sign Luke Kennard. Williams felt like the obvious candidate with his $6.1M expiring contract, and because he’s no longer in a healthy rotation. It’s not a trade to go crazy over — I will add that giving up just one second-round pick was shocking to me, as I thought it may take 2-3 of them to get off his contract. While some may be skeptical of giving up an asset to dump the Ziaire Williams contract, it’s a singular second round pick 5 years out, and second-round picks pass around the league like a game of hot potato. For what it’s worth, opting to not “waive and stretch” him saves the Grizzlies $2M on their books for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons.

Nonetheless, it’s a move that accomplishes their goal of freeing up the books a little bit, while also not hindering their flexibility for future maneuvering.

This trade was a money-saving move, but before getting into the dynamics there, I need to shed light on the Ziaire Williams experience. The pick was always a swing on Williams’ big-wing archetype and his pedigree — the hope his potential manifests, and his lone season at Stanford was just a rough year.

Williams showed potential in his rookie season, especially towards the back half of the year when he was primarily a starter. It was easy to envision him as a fit next to the Big 3 with his play-finishing, defensive stopping potential, and improving outside jumper.

He couldn’t build on his rookie season momentum, as a knee injury ultimately hindered his development. He fell out of the rotation his sophomore season, and the team decided to focus on getting him developmental reps in the G League. He showed the upside to bounce back in his third season with a stellar preseason outing that won him a starting spot. However, he couldn’t ride that wave into a strong campaign.

Now, entering his 4th season, his young wing counterparts — GG Jackson, Vince Williams, and Jake LaRavia — have surpassed him in the rotation. While the Ziaire Williams experience didn’t pay off, the Grizzlies are still in good position given their emerging wing depth. For Williams, Zach Kleiman sent him to a destination where he’ll receive ample opportunity to find his niche in the NBA ahead of his 2025 free agency.

To the motivation of the deal.

The trade initially saves the Grizzlies approximately $3.8M — which moves them roughly $10M below the luxury tax. Diakite’s contract has had $1,392,150 guaranteed because of BYK/NYK trade. If waived, it’d save the Grizzlies a total of $4.7M — leaving them almost $11M under the luxury tax.

If the objective is to re-sign Luke Kennard to a targeted number while staying under the luxury tax, they’re likely at a good spot to accomplish it. Obviously, the next question is, what is that number for the Grizzlies? The market hasn’t been forgiving to one-position shooting specialists — Gary Trent and Malik Beasley are examples. However, Kennard is a different tier of shooter than those two players, as he’s shot 45% from 3 over the past 5 seasons. In addition, he provides a bit more playmaking in a pinch than either player. A two-year deal for roughly $18-20M ($9-10M annually) could be a good number to bring back Kennard, while staying under the luxury tax.

With Diakite, he might not be on the roster long. The Grizzlies could bring him into training camp to get a closer look at him. He’s a 6’9” big man with nice athleticism in the pick-and-roll. He could be a temporary solution as their “5th big man.” Nonetheless, if they decide to waive him, it wouldn’t hit their books too significantly — bringing in a non-consequential salary was a likely secondary goal of trading Ziaire Williams.

If the Grizzlies waive Diakite, how could they approach an open roster spot? We’ll have to wait and see. While it may not be ideal to go into the season without one more big man, leaving the roster spot open allows them to properly assess their needs to see what kind of player they need with this team. Worth noting, the past two seasons, the Grizzlies had to waive guaranteed contracts in Kennedy Chandler and Kenneth Lofton Jr. to address needs on the rosters. They’re running out of those type of contracts to simply waive.

Once the Grizzlies re-sign Kennard, I’ll go through the roster situation to explore different pathways towards acquiring another big man.

With this trade though, the Grizzlies’ roster is now one step closer to its final (preseason) form for the 2024-25 season.

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