National Basketball Association

Report: Nets believe they can trade Deron Williams

Published Jun. 29, 2015 5:45 p.m. ET

foxsports

By Vincent Frank

Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN New York reported on Monday that the Brooklyn Nets believe there is a trade market for point guard Deron Williams, who has been an underwhelming presence for the team since being acquired from the Utah Jazz in February of 2011.

It just remains to be seen whether that market includes much more than a pair of old jockstraps and some other dirty laundry.

Williams, 31, averaged just 13.0 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 39 percent from the field this past season. That came on the heels of an equally substandard 2013-14 performance that saw him put up just a bit over 14 points per game. Those were Williams’ worst performances since his rookie campaign back in 2005-06.

Clearly on the decline, the larger issue is Williams’ contract. He still has two years remaining on a deal that’s set to pay him over $43 million.

This could very well be a case of the Nets putting it out there that they are willing to move Williams, but that was already a foregone conclusion based on his horrendous performance this past season.

It’s hard to imagine anyone is willing to pick up Williams’ contract while offering the Nets anything of value in return. And while a change of scenery might do him good, would that really reverse Williams' deteriorating skills?

If Williams does indeed have some value on the trade block, it has to be for a player or two who possess equally disastrous contracts. It would also have to include teams that are in desperate need for some help at point guard.

That severely limits any anticipated market for Williams’ services.

Pure conjecture here, but a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves might make sense. They could offload the contracts of Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic while adding a player in Williams who could be an upgrade over an under-performing Ricky Rubio.

Either way, you get the point.

There might be a market for Williams, but that’s only going to consist of teams that are also looking to unload bad contracts.

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