OKLAHOMA CITY — In Ziaire Williams, the rebuilding Nets took a flier on a former lottery pick as a salary dump.

He is a skilled defender who excels at running the floor, although his shooting has traditionally been a weak point. However, if he can maintain his current shooting form, the team’s risk in him may well pay off.

Coach Jordi Fernandez praised the player’s dedication to improving his game, noting that his hard work in practice has boosted his confidence on the court. Despite a period of absence due to injury, the player has put in the necessary effort through repetitions to elevate his performance.

While the player’s strengths lie in his length and defensive prowess, the coach emphasized the importance of him making smart shot selections. By demonstrating a willingness to take the right shots, the player has shown significant improvement and earned praise for his contributions to the team.

Williams had 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and a block in 25 minutes in a 102-101 loss to the Lakers on Friday night in Los Angeles.

The forward has shot 40.8 percent from deep in nine games played since a 12-game injury absence, hitting multiple 3-pointers in all but two of those nine contests. Before the injury layoff, he’d managed just 27.3 percent and five multiple 3-point outings.

“Yeah, man, shoot, they tell me constantly shoot, shoot, shoot,” said Williams, still just 23. “So, I’ve got to be the one to believe in myself. And yes, it’s good out there. It feels good right now. And I’m just trying to just stay in this rhythm.”

Keon Johnson has cracked double-figure scoring in a career-high eight games.

Tosan Evbuomwan had 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting against the Lakers, adding six boards, two assists and a steal in 27 minutes.

The two-way forward has reached double-figure scoring in five of the past six games since Jan. 8. In that span he’s averaged 12.8 points on 58.3 percent shooting and 37.5 percent from deep in 24.8 minutes to lead the bench.

“We trust each other and take the right shots,” Evbuomwan said of the bench. “Ben [Simmons] and [D’Angelo Russell] do a great job as point guards, putting us in the right spots, making it easier for us. So, lot of credit to those guys. They push the pace well and they find us, so yeah that’s how it worked.”

With president-elect Donald Trump set to be inaugurated Monday and vowing to impose tariffs on Chinese exports, Nets owner Joe Tsai— who is the chairman and co-founder of Chinese giant Alibaba — weighed in.

“Right now, this is, I could say definitively, the most unfriendly geopolitical environment that we’ve been in,” Tsai said this week at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong. “As a Chinese company, if we want to do business in the U.S., we’re gonna get hit by whatever it may be, [including] tariffs.”

Oshae Brissett, who won a title with the Celtics in June, has inked with the G League Long Island Nets. He was in Team Canada camp under Fernandez.