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Brooklyn Nets: GM Says Deron Williams Won’t Be Bought Out

By Phil Watson

Feb 28, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams (8) smiles from the court prior to the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 28, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams (8) smiles from the court prior to the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /
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Amid much speculation that the Brooklyn Nets could choose to buy out former All-Star point guard Deron Williams or use the NBA’s stretch provision to soften the financial blow from eating the final two years and $43.3 million on the deal, general manager Billy King said that won’t happen.

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Not that it might. Not that it could. It won’t. When asked about the possibility, King told ESPN New York simply, “No.”

OK, then.

Williams is coming off the worst season of his 10-year NBA career, averaging 13 points—the lowest since his rookie season as a part-time starter with the Utah Jazz—6.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds a game while shooting a career-worst .387 from the floor. He did hit 36.7 percent of his 3-point attempts and his 83.4 free-throw mark was better than his career average of 81.9 percent.

Under the stretch provision, the Nets could buy Williams out and spread the financial impact over five seasons–$8.6 million a year—as opposed to the $21 million he is owed next season and the $22.3 million due in 2016-17.

Speculation such as that about Williams can sometimes come from odd sources. In this case, the Nets sent out a letter to season-ticket holders recently that did not include the names of Williams or fellow former All-Star Joe Johnson.

Johnson is entering the final year of his gargantuan contract and is scheduled to be paid $24.9 million in 2015-16.

“Within that letter, I think everyone made a big deal of that because we didn’t mention Joe and Deron’s name, but I think in doing so, we talked about Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young, trying to retain them because they were free agents,” King said.

King said the point was to promote the younger players on the ball club, not disrespect the older ones.

“We talked about some of our younger guys because some of those guys we didn’t know coming in how successful they’d be coming in the NBA,” King said. “So I guess we were sort of saying, we know these guys can play in the league, and we weren’t trying to slight Deron or Joe. We know what they have, what they bring to the table.”

Yes, great big paychecks and ever-diminishing production.

King did say, however, that the Nets—however unlikely this may be—would like to avoid paying the repeater tax for being above the salary cap for a third consecutive season.

The salary cap is projected to be around $67.1 million for next season and the Nets already have more than $86.5 million on the books for 2015-16, according to Hoops Hype.

That includes player options for Lopez ($16.8 million), Young ($9.7 million) and Alan Anderson ($1.3 million), as well as a qualifying offer hold of $1.1 million for Jerome Jordan and team options on Markel Brown, Cory Jefferson and Earl Clark that total approximately $2.9 million.

So, not surprisingly, King did mention the possibility of making a trade to shed some salary.

Besides Williams and Johnson, backup point guard Jarrett Jack could be shopped. Jack has one year and $6.3 million remaining on his deal, plus an identical $6.3 million team option for 2016-17.

Mar 28, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Travis Outlaw (25) handles the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 28, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Travis Outlaw (25) handles the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

One player who will finally be off the books in 2015-16 is Travis Outlaw, released under the amnesty clause in December 2011. While not counting against the cap, Outlaw has been paid $10 million over the last four seasons after he was waived one year into a five-year, $26 million deal.

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    • The box the Nets find themselves in is this: Even if they are able to deal Williams, Johnson or Jack—or some combination of the three—they will have to bring back a roughly equal amount of money.

    Ultimately, when trying to trade toxic contracts, one must almost always bring back something in return that would be better off handled by a hazardous materials team.

    Depending on what happens with Lopez and Young, however, the Nets could be positioned—thanks to the huge increases in the salary cap set for 2016-17 and 2017-18—to make another stab at bringing in talent for a title run.

    Of course, given Billy King’s track record, his strategy could include wanting to bring in more past champions who are on the downhill slope of their careers and picking up speed.

    I mean, hey. Tim Duncan will only be 40 and Kobe Bryant 38 at the start of the 2016-17 season.

    Next: The 30 Best Point Guards of All-Time

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