2021 NBA Mock Draft: Way too early picks for the lottery

2021 NBA Mock Draft (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
2021 NBA Mock Draft (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
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(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

In the midst of the most coveted uncommitted 2020 high school prospects you can find the 6-foot-7 and 175 pound highly-promising small forward Ziaire Williams. Williams does rank as the nation’s No. 5 2020 high school prospect, No. 3 prospect out of California, and the top overall small forward.

He’s a product of Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth, CA, and carries offers from less than 20 schools at this moment in time. His 247Sports recruiting profile compares him to former Duke forward and Atlanta Hawks rookie Cam Reddish. He’s also held out to be a first round pick if he goes for the 2021 draft.

Williams has a very good shooting stroke, and he could turn into a very reliable catch-and-shoot threat from the outside in the NBA. All indicators point to Williams becoming a very big scoring threat both wherever he takes his talents to in college and when he takes that next step to the NBA. He does need to improve his strength and on-ball defense. Consistency in ball handling is also important.

The 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions for Williams has the Stanford Cardinal, USC Trojans, and the North Carolina Tar Heels as the three favorites to land his commitment (in order from top-to-bottom). Stanford has yet to land a truly big time high school prospect in their 2020 recruiting class, but Williams could be it.

Placing Williams alongside two rising talents like point guard Ja Morant and power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. with the Memphis Grizzlies would continue their ascent back to prominence in the Western Conference.