It’s June 5th, and I’m already tired of hearing about Deron Williams’ upcoming decision that is destined to doom at least one of the two teams involved; the New Jersey Nets and the Dallas Mavericks.
As you know from prior posts and basically everywhere unless you live under a rock, Williams is the All Star point guard and centerpiece of New Jersey’s team, and if he leaves would have a Cleveland post-LeBron type wreckage.
Dallas scrapped a championship team to aim at the 2012 offseason in hopes of landing the superstar who played high school ball only ten minutes away in The Colony.
Williams will have to decide between the hometown that has basically placed their future upon his shoulders (without his permission), and Jay Z’s franchise that will head to Brooklyn, and hopes to have Williams as the face of their new beginning.
It’s deeper than that though. Dallas has an incredible opportunity, but how much weight do they have to throw around?
Right now, their pitch is “Come play with Dirk Nowitzki for a few years, one of the best players in the league and a guy who’s already won a ring”, but past that there isn’t much.
They have an advantage too. Williams is Dallas. He has it tattooed on his arm. He grew up on the north side of the city since he was at least 8 years old.
His family still lives there, but his brother just graduated from high school Sunday night. The brother attended TCHS as well, and Williams was in section 207, sporting a Texas Rangers cap with his wife and kids.
His brother played basketball at TC. He’s a 5’9 speedy point guard, ranked the No. 63 player in Texas by MaxPreps. But he isn’t going to college just yet.
Little bro is taking advantage of a loophole that some players do. He’s attending a private school for a fifth year of high school ball, to further develop his skills and hope for a few more inches of height before heading to a college campus.
Secondhand reports around town say that he will be doing this in New Jersey (I wonder why?), but plenty of Dallas-area schools offer the extra eligibility as well.
Williams’ decision obviously effects where his brother will play his 5th year of ball at, as I doubt the brother will head to New Jersey if Williams isn’t playing there.
Is it a done deal that Williams will be staying in Jersey and housing his little brother for a year, or is it something little bro has been told to say while the All Star decides what he wants to do?
And more importantly, is his brother’s high school career something that is influencing Williams’ decision?
One thing is for sure, only time will tell, but don’t expect an answer any time soon.
Until then, I’ll definitely be naming any other factors that make anything close to sense.
- Brendon Morris
In Stillwater, there is a mixed fan base of both Thunder and Mavericks fans, so James and I like to add coverage every once in awhile.
Tonight, the NBA Lottery will go down, and neither OKC nor Dallas are eligible. The Thunder probably won’t even be watching, as their team is in a pretty good position right now and doesn’t really have a gap to fill or a need to trade up to a top spot.
But Cuban and the rest of the Dallas fan base? They’ll not only be watching, but they’ll be studying every move made.
Why? It’s simple. Deron Williams.
The New Jersey Nets have a 1 in 4 chance of getting that coveted top pick when the draft rolls around, and if that 25% chance strikes oil then there could be a major swing in what this summer’s offseason will hold.
It’s no secret that Williams is a free agent, and will garner the most attention this offseason from teams looking for a franchise point guard. It’s also no secret that the Illinois alum is a Dallas native, playing his high school ball at The Colony High School just north east of uptown.
Long story short, it’s very likely that Williams has been entertaining the idea of playing in his hometown, and Mark Cuban is obviously thinking the same thing as he stripped his 2011 championship team down to nothing to make a run at D-Will.
So what does tonight have to do with that situation?
It’s actually pretty simple. Williams wants to win, he’s said that forever. If New Jersey (er, Brooklyn?) doesn’t make an obvious attempt to make the 22-44 team into a contender, it’s likely that their point guard throws up a peace sign as he departs.
But if New Jersey lands a top 3 or 4 pick tonight, that could be just what Williams needs to see. In that Top 4, you have Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bradley Beal, and Thomas Robinson. Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist and Robinson have all shown strong play at the forward position, and if any are on the board when New Jersey goes on the clock, you can guarantee they’d take them.
Another scenario? Well, there’s a man in Orlando named Dwight Howard who may (or may not) want out. Would New Jersey dish out a Top 3 pick plus a few players for the best center in the league?
You bet.
What Dallas fans are rooting for is to see New Jersey get left out in the cold, somewhere preferably out of the Top 5 of the draft.
If that happens, you’ll see the Deron Williams sweepstakes hit full-swing as soon as the Larry O’Brien trophy is hoisted into the air.
-Brendon Morris
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