Ziaire Williams 'Hopeful' To Return to the Nets

One of the storylines to watch over the course of the offseason will be the slew of expiring contracts the Brooklyn Nets have. One of the players who may have played their final game in a Brooklyn uniform is Ziaire Williams, who is set to become a restricted free agent in a few months' time.

This allows the former Stanford star to go out and field offers from other teams around the league while also allowing the Nets' front office to match any offers in order to retain him going forward. It appears that continuing his stint in the Barclays Center is something Williams is rather fond of, having found a spot and a coaching approach that gets the best out of him.

"I feel like Brooklyn is the place for me," said Williams. "Just the way the staff has pushed me and held me to a higher standard. I know you can't really find that everywhere in the NBA, I definitely didn't take it for granted, like they pushed me at times where I'm like 'man this guy is freaking crazy'..."

The 23-year-old hasn't had much time in Brooklyn, having only arrived there in the last off-season after being shipped from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Nemanja Dangubic and Mamadi Diakite. Yet, Williams hit the ground running before quickly going on to having himself a career-year when it comes to scoring output, averaging 10 points per game on 41.2 percent from the field. It's worth noting that these increases came alongside a noticeable rise in game time, receiving four more minutes as well as 30 more appearances in the starting lineup this season than he did last season under Taylor Jenkins.

It isn't just a compatible coaching staff that the former Stanford star has found in Brooklyn, as he's carved himself out a social group that makes him optimistic about returning for another stint.

"Hopefully, I'm here, I've made some lifelong friends and people who I call family and my brothers now, so hopefully, we get to run it back."

It's worth noting that Williams could be a highly sought-after target for plenty of teams around the league, as he's fairly young and still shown to be able to progress under new systems. But again, the Nets' front office is set to have a considerable amount of cap space to match any offers that could go against them.

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