The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to add to their win column as they visit the Golden State Warriors on Friday, but they will still be a little short-handed. Forward Ziaire Williams, who missed the Lakers’ win against the LA Clippers on Wednesday, was downgraded to out on the injury report for the game against the Warriors.

Ziaire Williams has been listed as dealing with a foot injury, and prior to that he had been among the Lakers’ most consistent players this season. He was signed as a free agent to a minimum contract, and had stepped into the starting lineup from the start of the year.

In his absence against the Clippers, Lakers head coach went with Jake LaRavia in the starting lineup. Williams had played in the team’s first four games of the season, at a little over 28 minutes per game. He was averaging a career-best 11.3 points, 3.0 rebounds. 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals with splits of 57.1 percent shooting from the field, 46.7 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 85.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

While Williams has been a major boost to the Lakers’ lineup in terms of his defense and 3-point shooting, he was recently targeted by the NBA for perceived flopping. Following the Lakers’ win against the Utah Jazz last Sunday, Williams was retroactively fined by the league for flopping. And then during the team’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, he was assessed a technical foul for the same thing.

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After the game, both Williams and Redick expressed their disbelief in the calls, stating that Williams’ body naturally moves a certain way when getting hit by opposing players.

The No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Williams spent the first three seasons of his career with the Memphis Grizzlies. He was traded to the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the 2024-25 season, and later re-signed with the team on a two-year contract in the summer of 2025. The Nets declined his option for this season, rendering him an unrestricted free agent. That’s when he chose to return to his home state and sign with the Lakers.