Los Angeles Lakers have signed a forward who has an interesting history with franchise superstar Luka Doncic.
The Lakers will add a former lottery pick in Ziaire Williams to their roster for the 2026-27 season after signing the forward to a minimum contract.
Williams averaged 10.2 points and 1.4 steals in a career year with the Brooklyn Nets last season and now joins the Doncic-led team despite being an unexpected rival of the Slovenian guard.
Williams tried to fight with Luka Doncic during a Lakers game last season
In March 2026, the Nets and Lakers faced off at the Crypto.com Arena, where Williams was among the defenders tasked with stopping Doncic.
During a heated encounter with trash-talk on both ends, Williams seemingly overreacted to a slight Doncic shove by smacking the Lakers star in the throat.
The incident led to double technical fouls being issued to both Doncic and Williams. The game was a one-point affair at the time of the clash, but this incident fueled Doncic massively.
Luka ended the game with 41 points and eight rebounds on 15-25 shooting, marking his 15th 40-point game of the last season.
The technical he received should’ve led to a one-game suspension, but the Lakers had one of Luka’s previous techs overturned via appeal to ensure the incident with Williams didn’t sideline him.
Williams had a standout game with 16 points and three steals as a starter. Maybe this performance served as the perfect scouting opportunity for the Lakers.
Williams showed he can be an impactful scorer while playing aggressive defense and challenging a personality like Doncic. He’ll be a locker room weapon and likely will keep Doncic on his toes.
The Lakers needed to find bargain wing signings, and Williams might be the perfect play for value on a minimum contract with the potential to considerably outperform his salary.
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