Deron Williams name gets thrown in with Chris Paul and Dwight Howard a lot.
And he is in the same situation — he is an elite player who can opt out at the end of this season and become a free agent. But when the Jazz traded him to New Jersey last year Williams’ situation changed, he became the recruiter trying to draw talent not the guy being recruited.
And he didn’t sound like a guy eager to move on in an interview with WFAN Monday. He sounded like a guy who likes the organization. John Schuhmann of NBA.com tweeted the key responses from Williams in the interview.“My plan is to stay. Hopefully we can get some good talent to where I can stay.”
D-Will says he talks to Dwight often & says that’s the one guy he’d love to play with, but doesn’t know what Dwight’s going to do.
Williams is asked what’s the % chance he stays with the Nets: “I’d probably say like 90 percent.”
Williams is going to play out this season with the Nets then become a free agent because that is his path to the biggest, longest payday. But if the Nets — who have cap space and some young pieces — can bring in one more star Williams will stay. He might stay anyway, not many teams can offer max deals to him next summer anyway.
Maybe we put Williams in a different category than Howard and Paul. He seems far more committed to a team (one with a realistic chance to build).