MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Grizzlies picked up Stanford forward Ziaire Williams in the first round of the NBA draft Thursday night through a draft-week deal that gave them the No. 10 overall selection.
The New Orleans Pelicans made the selection for the Grizzlies in keeping with a trade agreed to Monday that won’t be completed until Aug. 6, when deals can become official.
The Grizzlies were slated to pick 17th but moved up by sending center Jonas Valanciunas and 2021 draft picks (No. 17 and No. 51) to the Pelicans for Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe and 2021 picks (No. 10 and No. 40) along with a top-10 protected 2022 first-round pick.
Williams, 19, was a McDonald’s All-American. In his lone season at Stanford, the 6-foot-8 and 185-pound Williams averaged 10.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 20 games. Williams shot 37.1%, including 29.1% on 3-pointers.
In his college debut against Alabama in the Maui Classic, he scored 19 points, but only surpassed 15 points in five of the team’s remaining 19 games. Despite the modest production, Williams recorded the second triple-double in Stanford history against Washington. He started 14 of 20 games.
While at Sierra Canyon High School in California, he was named to the United States team for the FIBA Under-19 World Championships. He averaged 4.6 points for the U.S. team, which earned the gold medal. As a senior at Sierra Canyon, Williams averaged 15 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists and led the team to the CIF-SS Open Division title
The Grizzlies reached the playoffs last season, but were knocked out in the opening round by the Utah Jazz. Memphis also had a pick in the second round (No. 51) but will receive the No. 40 pick under the trade agreement.
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