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Dimes and Disappointment: Deron Williams and the Brooklyn Nets
Feb 28, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams (8) smiles from the court prior to the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Deron Williams was supposed to be the second coming of Jason Kidd for the Brooklyn Nets. Instead of being the franchise floor general, he became more of a disappointment. Let’s take one final look at what was the D-Will Era.
In 2011, the New Jersey Nets were looking to make a splash as they were getting ready to move to Brooklyn. The Nets made several attempts to trade for Carmelo Anthony, who made it known that he wanted to play in New York. Melo meant the Knicks, but Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov wanted to take over the city, and acquiring a superstar like Melo would be a good start.
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Spoiler: the Nets didn’t get Anthony, even though then-Nuggets head coach George Karl liked the Nets’ offer more than the Knicks’.
So the Knicks get Anthony, then in stunning fashion, at the trade deadline, the Nets successfully traded for the franchise point guard of the Utah Jazz, All-Star Deron Williams. The Nets traded Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, cash, and two first-round picks in 2011 (Enes Kanter) and 2013 (Gorgui Dieng).
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At the time of the trade, Williams was considered an elite NBA point guard, comparable only to Chris Paul. The Jazz did not have to trade Williams, who still had two years on his contract, but Williams and legendary Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan had some kind of falling out about two weeks prior to the trade, and Sloan resigned.
This falling out permanently gave many NBA fans the perception that Williams was a “coach killer.” Many analysts and pundits viewed the Jazz’s move as a preemptive strike to avoid going through the same drama the Nuggets just went through with Anthony.
Nets head coach Avery Johnson gave Williams high praise following the trade.
“This is about dissembling a team that won 12 games and assembling a team, that in the future, could compete for a championship and Deron’s going to be a major part of that. Whatever his relationship was with Coach Sloan that will not have any effect on our relationship. I never had a point guard with Deron’s talent level and skill level,” said Johnson before adding “he can play as many minutes as he wants to.”
The Nets had found their superstar to move to Brooklyn, the cornerstone of the future.
D-Will in New Jersey
The Nets saw an immediate improvement once Williams stepped on the court. Before his acquisition, the Nets were averaging less than 100 points per possession (99.4), scoring 91.2 points per 48 minutes, assisting on 57 percent of made field goals, and shooting less than 44 percent as a team. Once Williams started running the offense, the Nets started averaging 107.6 points per possession, scoring 103.4 points per 48 minutes, assisting on 67.5 percent of their made field goals and shooting 46 percent as a team.
Williams was playing like this with a nagging wrist injury. So New Jersey’s newest acquisition only played 12 games (of the remaining 20) after the trade deadline in 2011. In those 12 games, he showcased why he was arguably the best point guard in the league at that time, as he averaged a career-high 12.8 assists.
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During the 2011 lockout, Williams signed a $5 million dollar deal to play with Besiktas in Turkey. Williams scored 50 points in the first group stage of the FIBA EuroChallenge, going 17-of-23 from the field and 7-of-10 from three. Once the lockout ended, his #8 jersey was retired.
The Nets hoped Williams would lead the team to the playoffs in their last season in New Jersey, and for the first time since 2007. However, Brook Lopez broke his foot during the preseason, causing him to miss more than a couple of months. Despite the team’s struggles, Williams earned his third All-Star appearance, averaging 22 points and eight assists at the time of the All-Star break. After the All-Star break, Lopez returned, and the Nets improved.
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Williams scored a career-high and franchise record 57 points against the Charlotte Bobcats. It was the most points scored that season and the second-most scored against the Bobcats franchise.
Williams remained optimistic and positive as it pertained to resigning with the Nets. Lopez went down with another injury and the team failed to trade for superstar center Dwight Howard to pair with Williams in Brooklyn.
Williams averaged 21 points, 8.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 55 games for the Nets in their final season in New Jersey.
In an attempt to show Williams that they were serious about improving the team and to further persuade him to resign, the Nets traded their first-round pick, which only had a 1-to-3 protection, to the Portland Trail Blazers for small forward Gerald Wallace (an expiring contract). Their pick was the sixth overall and became Damian Lillard. The Nets signed Wallace to a four-year, $40 million extension in the 2012 offseason.
Mar. 24, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Brooklyn Nets forward Kris Humphries (43), guard Deron Williams (8) and center Brook Lopez (11) celebrate in the second half against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center. The Nets defeated the Suns 102-100. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Hello Brooklyn
The Nets signed Williams to a five-year $98 million deal in July of 2012 to complete their move to Brooklyn. Following the failed trade for Dwight Howard, the Nets traded for All-Star Joe Johnson and resigned Lopez. Williams and Johnson were marketed as the Brooklyn Backcourt, complete with press conference and fanfare.
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The first season in Brooklyn was a roller coaster ride, not only for Williams, but for the Nets organization. Williams was dealing with bad ankles, which required cortisone shots and platelet-rich plasma treatments. Avery Johnson was fired in December after winning Coach of the Month, which only added fuel to the fire of the “coach killer” perception Williams still had. It didn’t help that Williams publicly criticized Johnson’s offense after praising the offense he ran in Utah under Sloan.
Williams averaged 18.9 points, 7.7 assists, three rebounds, and one steal in 78 games for the inaugural Brooklyn season. The Nets went 49-33, finishing second in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
The Nets played the Chicago Bulls in the first round. The series would go the distance with the Nets losing Game Seven at home. Despite the disheartening loss at home, Williams played at an All-Star level in his first post-season appearance with the Nets, averaging 20.6 points and 8.4 assists per game.
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Williams, Johnson and Lopez showcased why they were the “Big Three” for Brooklyn. Essentially, they were the Nets’ only offense. Wallace and Kris Humphries/Reggie Evans contributed less than 10 points combined in the series against Chicago.
This led to the Nets management/ownership to believe they were only two pieces away from a deep playoff run. If they could add scoring to the forward positions, they would be real contenders in the East. What ensued was the infamous Boston trade in the 2013 offseason, when the Nets acquired future Hall-of-Famers Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett from the Celtics, leading to incredibly high expectations for the 2013-14 season.
D-Will the MVP?
Jason Kidd returned to the Nets as the head coach, and the Nets broke the bank with their new starting five of Williams, Johnson, Pierce, Garnett, and Lopez. Expectations were unbelievably high heading into the season, due to the additions of Pierce and Garnett. The Brooklyn Nets were expected to compete with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and the Miami Heat for Eastern Conference supremacy.
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Expectations were especially high for the franchise floor general, who was the main reason Pierce and Garnett were open and optimistic to being traded to Brooklyn. Williams made players like Marshon Brooks, Gerald Green, Kris Humphries, and Brook Lopez look great in New Jersey. So it only made sense that with an All-Star lineup in Brooklyn, the $98 million dollar point guard was expected to play at an elite, MVP-caliber level. Pierce admitted to ESPN that he viewed Williams as an MVP candidate.
“Before I got there (Brooklyn), I looked at Deron as an MVP candidate…but I felt once we got there, that’s not what he wanted to be. He just didn’t want that,” said Pierce. “I think a lot of the pressure got to him sometimes. This was his first time in the national spotlight. The media in Utah is not the same as the media in New York, so that can wear on some people. I think it really affected him.”
As they say, hindsight is 20/20. Despite still dealing with ankle injuries, Williams’ 2013-14 season was a drastic disappointment. He averaged 14.3 points and 6.1 assists per game for the regular season, and the Nets finished 44-38, a worse record than the previous season despite adding two future Hall-of-Famers and having a basketball genius as the head coach. Most of the blame was put on the franchise point guard, who was supposed to be leading the team, not playing like a glorified role player to Pierce and Garnett.
The sixth seed Nets faced off against the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs. This series against “the North” was not kind to Williams. Kyle Lowry definitively outplayed D-Will, and it was embarrassing. So embarrassing that Nets fans put up “Missing” posters outside of the Barclays Center before Game Six of the series.
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Williams, playing with bad ankles, stopped missing for Games Six and Seven to help the Nets advance to the next round of the playoffs. The Nets would fall to the Miami Heat with a gentlemen’s sweep in the conference semifinals.
Williams averaged 14.5 points and 5.8 assists per game during the 2014 playoffs, which was disappointing to say the least.
The Nets bet the bank on Williams and the Boston trade and lost. Ownership shipped Kidd to Milwaukee, management didn’t resign Pierce, and Garnett was traded for Thaddeus Young the next season.
Mar 11, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams (8) looks on during the second half against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
The Fall Off
2014-15 was D-Will’s final season with the franchise. He started off hot, earning Eastern Conference Player of the Week (November 3 through November 9), his first time winning the honor as a Net. Williams got injured in December and lost his starting spot to Jarrett Jack, who head coach Lionel Hollins favored over Williams.
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Hollins and Williams had a very tumultuous relationship, to say the least. Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reported that Williams had to be restrained from going after Hollins around the All-Star break. Apparently, Williams met up with Hollins to express his dissatisfaction with his coaching, and Hollins is known to be brutally honest.
Williams averaged a career-low 13 points and 6.6 assists per game for the 2014-15 season. The Nets went back into the playoffs with a pitiful 38-44 record. Despite their near altercation, Hollins defended his point guard’s play to the New York media. Hollins called Williams “a good person” and “a good player,” and criticized the media for having too high of expectations for his play.
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The Nets went on to lose in six games to the 60-win Atlanta Hawks. D-Will had arguably his best playoff performance during Game Four in Brooklyn. Besides that game, it was otherwise the worst playoff appearance of his career, as he averaged a career-low 11.8 points and 5.5 assists per game for the postseason. However, he did record a career postseason high in rebounds, averaging 6.2 per game.
On July 11, 2015, the Brooklyn Nets officially waived Deron Williams. The Nets bought out the remaining two years, $40-plus million of his contract. Williams would sign with his hometown Dallas Mavericks, the only other team he even considered signing with four-and-a-half years prior.
Mar 11, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams (8) dribbles the ball against the Miami Heat during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Final Thoughts
In his four-and-a-half seasons with the Nets, Deron Williams provided a lot more lows than highs. There was often a tale of two Derons. One was all about his family and his charity work for autism. The other Deron bothered everyone from ownership and management, to the coaching staff with his negative attitude, body language, and demeanor. A demeanor that often fans watching the games could witness. If the Nets went down early, their floor general essentially conceded the game.
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Since Nets ownership and management wanted him to be the franchise player, they often considered his opinion on roster moves. Williams once referred to himself as the “assistant general manager” to general manager Billy King, due to the significant amount of time he spent lying on the couch in King’s office. It should be noted that some of his advice to King was to not draft talents like Anthony Davis, but to trade picks for established talent because he didn’t want to spend time developing young guys.
Objectively, the Nets were a better team with Williams running the offense. A broke, negative D-Will still ran a better offense than a healthy Jarrett Jack, but buying out Williams was addition by subtraction.
Ironically, we could thank Williams for the philosophical shift in the franchise. The Nets were so fed up with the negativity and the superstar worship that they hired Sean Marks. Since then, they have adopted a Spurs-like, Brooklyn Grit culture dedicated to developing young players with high character.
Williams appeared in 277 games (258 starts) with the Nets and averaged 16.6 points and 7.5 assists per game during his tenure.
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