A report leaked after the Nets’ crushing Game 5 loss, and resulting playoff elimination, to the Heat on Wednesday night that Brooklyn point guard Deron Williams is upset with his current situation with the team and may or may have requested a trade. Deron, since being traded to the Nets from the Utah Jazz three and a half years ago, has been up and down for basically his entire tenure as injuries have really disrupted his play.
For Deron, ankles have been his downfall, as he has missed tons of games with his pair of injured ankles, which doesn’t take into account how much worse he has played when actually staying on the court with his painful injuries. To be clear, the Nets haven’t exactly gotten the Deron they wanted when they gave up Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, a pair of first-round picks, and some cash in February of 2011 for the former All-Star.
That’s why, after Brooklyn lost to the Heat in five games to end their season, the Nets need to make some serious decisions this offseason with their aging roster, insane salary commitments, and impending free agents. Deron would fall under the “insane salary commitments” category, as his contract stipulates he earn northwards of $60 million over the next three years. For a player whose effectiveness was suspect and inconsistent this postseason and regular season, that number seems a little high.
The problem is that few, if any, other NBA teams would want to absorb a contract of that size for an oft-injured Williams.
However, as it appears that both parties–Deron and the Nets–would be open to a trade, general manager Billy King almost definitely has to look into, or even execute, a deal this summer that would send him to a better situation. It’s been pretty clear that Deron hasn’t been able to handle the New York media and pressure too well in his time with the Nets so maybe a change of place, even with possibly ankle surgery looming this summer, would bode well for D-Will.
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