Out of their multiple candidates, the Nets’ easiest scapegoat for their extreme struggles over the past few seasons has undoubtedly been Deron Williams, Brooklyn’s max-contract point guard who–for a variety of reasons–just hasn’t been the All-Star level player he was with the Utah Jazz before his 2011 trade to New Jersey.
Deron posted 18+ points and 10+ assists per game while shooting 47 percent or better from the field in each of his final three seasons in Utah, spanning the 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. However, he only made the Western Conference All-Star team in the last of those campaigns, but by then he established himself as one of the NBA’s top point guards along with Chris Paul.
Even in 2010-11, which he split between Utah and New Jersey, Williams averaged a career-high 20.1 points with 10.3 assists but saw his scoring drop precipitously in his first 12 games with the Nets before missing the rest of the year due to injury. He picked his offense back up in the next season, scoring 21 points per in 55 games of the shortened 66-game slate, yet dipped under nine assists for the first time since his rookie year.
Since then, his numbers–both totals and percentages–have steadily dropped each season all the way to his career nadir–this past 2014-15 slog. With an ugly .387/.367/.834 slashline and 13-point, 6.6-assist averages, Williams worked through another injury-filled season amid trade rumors and bitter underperformance from his team as a whole.
Now, in the pre-offseason as the playoffs progress, the Nets–who were bounced in the first round by the No. 1 seed Atlanta Hawks in six games–need to re-evaluate their plan for the future, with a major priority being what to do with Deron, who is owed $21 million for the 2015-16 season and, unless he exercises his early termination options, $22 million for 2016-17.
One of their options is to buy out the remaining two years of his deal, which would result in the Nets eating the rest of the money owed to him but have it come off the salary cap, allowing them to sign or trade for a potential replacement. Presumably, this would also lighten the likely-exorbitant luxury tax bill owner Mikhail Prokhorov is expected to be saddled with thanks to Billy King’s expensive wheeling-and-dealing.
Another option is to try and trade Deron, as the Nets openly did earlier in the 2014-15 season, and only look to get 50 cents or so on the proverbial dollar of investment. At this point, considering D-Will will be 31 by the time next season starts, a few marginal players and some draft picks is all Brooklyn can expect to get for the hobbled star. As we know, the Nets’ issues go far, far beyond inconsistencies at the 1 so such a return isn’t making a notable difference outside of salary relief.
Of course, the final option is to keep him until his deal runs out–or he decides to leave via opt-out–and just hope he can somewhat turn his career around. That would mean getting his field goal percentage back toward 43-46 percent, dishing out more than six assists per game (for high-usage point guards like Deron, that number is way too small) and limiting turnovers on a game-to-game basis. Can the Nets get that from him, along with 70+ games player? I’m not sure and I wouldn’t totally expect it, but it’s certainly possible.
That’s why Nets should pursue Option C and keep Deron for at least the 2015-16 campaign. The last thing this team needs is more unnecessary player movement and with a championship run certainly not in the cards for the next few seasons, there’s no reason to ship out a guy who can be a dominant NBA point guard, but has faced obstacle after obstacle as he tries to become that again. Some middling, slightly-above-average players and mid-to-low first-round picks aren’t solving any problems, and there’s just about nothing worse than paying a player to play against you (ask Billy King about Travis Outlaw).
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