Ziaire Williams’ improved 3-point shooting giving Nets good return on investment

SAN ANTONIO — It was Ziaire Williams’ janky jumper that got him salary-dumped by Memphis. But now it’s his improved 3-point stroke that is earning him crunch-time minutes with the Nets.

A below league-average shooter for his entire career, Williams comes into Sunday’s game here against the Spurs hitting 54.5 percent percent from behind the arc after going 6-of-9 from deep in Friday’s home-opening loss to the Cavaliers.

That’s in the top 10 among players averaging 5.5 attempts, per Basketball Reference.

And it’s a far cry from where he started as a shooter.

“Yeah, for sure. I mean, I worked my butt off every day this summer,” Williams, 24, said of his offseason improvement. “You know, thousands and thousands of shots, three times a day, all different footworks.

“There’s not any shot that I shoot in the game that I haven’t worked on. And I’m a true believer in that. The amount of work you put in always comes back and I try to trust God and trust my work. And I’m glad I made some shots [Friday].”

Williams was acquired by the Nets in a salary dump, a former lottery pick and solid defender whose lack of a jumper eventually prompted the Grizzlies to move on.

The Nets were reshaping their roster in the aftermath of dealing Mikal Bridges to the Knicks. Overshadowed by the five first-round picks the Nets got from their rival was Mamadi Diakite on an expiring partial guaranteed deal.

The Nets flipped him to Memphis for a 2030 Dallas second-round pick and Williams.

The fact that Williams’ 34.1 percent from deep last season was a career high should underscore just how far he had to come.

But his defense, energy and youth prompted the rebuilding Nets to hand him a two-year, $12.5 million contract this past offseason, the second season a team option.

Through preseason and two games, they appear to be getting a return on their (modest) investment.

Williams had 25 points off the bench Friday against the Cavaliers, his second-highest scoring game while tying career bests for buckets (nine) and 3-pointers (six).

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And he scored 11 points in the fourth quarter alone, as the Nets cut what had been a 25-point deficit to just one before falling just short.

He was a plus-17 in 9:37 logged during that final period, while starter Terance Mann got 3:58.

Cam Thomas is available against the Spurs despite having a nasal fracture.

Drake Powell (right (ankle sprain) and Danny Wolf (left ankle sprain) are out, as is Haywood Highsmith (knee).

“Ziaire was extremely active and was shooting well, so sometimes you got to read the game, and I felt like he needed to be there,” said head coach Jordi Fernández.

The attempt by the Nets to develop a record five first-round picks drew comparisons to his own Brooklyn tenure from Kenny Atkinson.

“I think of Joe Harris. He was a disaster his first year, like, can this guy play in the league? There were a bunch of guys in that bucket,” said Atkinson. “We had the luxury of being able to throw them out there, though. There’s no better development road than that.

“This seems similar here where they’re like, OK, the best way to do this is get these guys in an NBA game and take their lumps and they’ll learn. And then Year 2 they get a little better and then Year 3 you hope you’re in the playoff hunt. I would think that’s the road map.”