[Old General Record] Jump to the Redemption: Knocking the Future Zaiyi!

In the summer of 2024, a cold phone call cut off the ties between Zaire Williams and the Grizzlies. As the high talented wing that the Grizzlies specially traded the 10th pick in the 2021 draft, Zaiyi's shoulders not only the team's expectations, but also the key bargaining chips for the Grizzlies' transition period. However, compared with rookies in the same tier gradually realizing their talents, Zaiyi's career has been cast a shadow due to injuries.

Looking back at Zai'er's career, his hips, knees... their injuries always have an impact when he tries to take off. Fans' expectations gradually turn into disappointment, and the core of the future gradually becomes a potential parallel product.

In the face of cruel reality, the Grizzlies need salary space to renew their more demanding shooter Kennard, so Zai'er and a tiny 2030 second-round draft pick were packaged and sent to Brooklyn. From the team's perspective, this is a deal purely to clear up the cap space, but for a young player who is only 23 years old and still looking for a future, it is an open abandonment, a denial of his efforts over the past three years.

Zaiyi landed in New York with a three-point shooting percentage of only 30.1% in his career and the label of "exciting physical fitness but deadly shooting". The Nets he joined are a team that has just sent off superstars and is determined to rebuild, and is in a storm. Above the ruins of the city, an abandoned soul meets a team that is looking for the future. At that time, no fans knew that this was an irrelevant gambling or an opportunity to change each other's destiny.

To understand Zai's struggle, you must return to the Grizzly era. His shooting problems have a long history. In high-intensity games, defensive pressure made him unable to complete his shooting movements calmly, resulting in his shooting often appearing hasty and powerless, and his shooting curves are also high and low. He has the advantage of height and wingspan, but cannot be transformed into a stable scoring threat, which also put him in a vicious cycle. The more he fails to shoot, the less he dares to shoot in the future.

After coming to the new environment, Zaiyi was eager to prove himself, but fate once again made a cruel joke with him. A left knee sprain occurred during a fight, followed by a 12 consecutive games missing. In terms of statistics before his injury, the three-point shooting percentage was a completely bad 27.3%.

The familiar script seems to be about to be staged again, being traded, injured, and data sluggish, all of which seem to be a curse that he cannot escape. But this time, the atmosphere of the Nets is different, and what this rebuilding team lacks the least is patience. The management and coach did not put extra pressure on him, but instead gave him the support he needed the most.

The month-long injury unexpectedly turned into a curse of luck.

Under the careful care of the teaching assistant and medical team, Zai'er's gradual recovery. More importantly, he can finally stay away from the hustle and bustle of the game, media doubts and external attention. At the Nets' HSS training center, he and assistants Connor Griffin and Cory Vinson conduct secret training isolated from the world.

Griffin became his most trusted mentor. In the training hall, Zaire heard only the sound of basketball hitting the floor and hollowing into the net. He incorporated the other party's suggestions into muscle memory and practiced repeatedly. From diet control, physical fitness control, to hundreds or thousands of shots, every shot is pursuing the same posture and the same arc.

At the same time, coach Fernandez also publicly expressed his support for him in an interview:

"We know that his ability is body and defensive strength, but we also need him to score those goals."

This trust from the team was passed on to Zaire in recovery through the media, and the whole of Brooklyn was telling him the same thing: we are waiting for you, waiting for a stronger Zaire.

Come January, when Zai'er re-started on the field, the Nets began to get rewards. In the first nine games after returning to the team, Zai's three-point shooting percentage soared to 40.8%. In a defeat against the Lakers, he efficiently scored 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block. Behind this, it is not only from his own efforts, but also from the support given by the entire coaching team and teammates.

"Oh my God, they keep yelling at me! Shooting! When everyone shouts at you like this, you have to be the one who believes in yourself the most. It feels really good on the court now, and I am trying to keep it at this pace."

This trust has completely liberated Zai's inner demon. He is no longer the young man who is afraid of shooting and is worried about blacksmithing. As the season deepened, his shooting percentage stabilized at over 36%, and his opponents began to be forced to adjust their defensive strategies, from the past to the current defense. And this happened to open another door on his offensive end, and he began to completely transform from the defensive engineer who needed to be refrigerated on the offensive end to the team's trusted offensive starting point.

Under this transformation, Zaire has also praised the help of Connor Griffin throughout the season, but in an interview with head coach Fernandez, he mentioned another key figure:

shooting trainer Dave Love from Canada, who is not a full-time assistant to the Nets, but just a shooting consultant. He has previously worked with teams such as Suns, Knights and Magic, and has enjoyed a reputation in the industry early. And his role in the Nets is more like a personal coach who is exclusive to Zai'er.

Team coach Fernandez shared Love's shooting philosophy:

"In my opinion, no matter what method, as long as you shoot fast, shoot high, and you can shoot, it's a good shot."

For this mysterious behind-the-scenes expert, Zaiyi also shared his opinion:

"I'm sure he will communicate with any coach who guides me, he will suddenly care. Sometimes we won't see him for a while, and then he will suddenly stay here for a whole week. He is definitely a cool person.. ”

The accumulations behind the scenes are now beginning to pay off, and the rebirth of the fire on the court will inevitably be on the business negotiating table. Zai'er's story is coming to the most critical moment.

According to the league regulations, if the Nets want to retain the priority of renewing his contract this summer, they must give him a qualified offer worth up to 8.35 million. This is a very meaningful number. A year ago he was a abandoned salary drag, and a year later, his potential value allowed him to stand in front of the door to open his new value.

And problems arise. Will Nets general manager Max be willing to bet on this potential? Judging from the predictions given by external salary experts, Most of the views predict that the Nets may give up the offer, allowing Zaiyi to become a completely free agent, and go to the market to seek a new contract that is more suitable for him.

From the Grizzlies' frustration to the Nets' rebirth; from being labeled as a parallel to tearing off doubts with sweat and beliefs, Zaiyi's story is a process of redeeming oneself. This summer, no matter which team he ends up wearing, no matter what number on the contract is, he has won something more precious than money, he has obtained the right to redefine himself and the opportunity to control the future with his own hands.

The door that was once closed to him is now being opened by him with a jump shot that was once ridiculed and questioned by countless people, and the world behind the door is full of infinite possibilities.