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Deron Williams Buyout Was Best For All Parties

By Joe Bianca

Apr 4, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams (8) looks at the scoreboard against the Atlanta Hawks in the first quarter at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams (8) looks at the scoreboard against the Atlanta Hawks in the first quarter at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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The latest domino in the Brooklyn Nets’ pursuit to slash salary and rebuild with a younger core has fallen. Increasingly disappointing point guard Deron Williams, once thought to be the centerpiece to the Nets contending upon the move to Brooklyn, will be paid $27.5 million of his remaining salary — $43.3 million — to get out of town.

The move is fairly predictable. When head coach Lionel Hollins felt candid enough to say Williams was no longer a franchise player, the writing was on the wall for the former two-time All-NBA Second Teamer.

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Williams had gotten worse every single year with the Nets and though he managed to play well in spurts, he was never the playoff performer Brooklyn envisioned when they traded for him in 2011. Injuries were a big part of his struggles, but he also looked more and more disinterested as time went on with being the Nets’ cornerstone.

Buying Williams out is a no-brainer for a team that has finally moved on from its unrealistic championship expectations and irrational spending and is willing to start over. Rebuilding begins with getting under the luxury tax line for the Nets and this was a big step toward that goal.

Indications have been that their other albatross contract, Joe Johnson, will be traded this offseason for cap relief and draft picks, but now that the Nets unloaded Williams, that’s unlikely to happen. This rebuild is a year or two late, but it’s progress nonetheless for the future of the franchise.

For Williams, he gets to return to his hometown of Dallas, where he seriously considered signing for less money in the summer of 2012 before eventually taking the Nets’ five-year, $98 million max offer. He also gets away from the spotlight of New York City, something the soft-spoken guard never seemed to embrace.

Williams will try to resurrect his career on a team not anticipated to be a playoff contender in the West and he could potentially form a nice pick-and-pop combination with Dirk Nowitzki if healthy. Perhaps a fresh start will benefit the player once thought of as 1 and 1A with Chris Paul as the league’s top two point guards.

For a myriad of reasons, Deron Williams and the Brooklyn Nets were never a good match and that fact became increasingly apparent over time. Now, both team and player can move on and build toward living up to their lofty expectations further down the line.

Next: DeAndre Jordan Made The Right Decision In The Wrong Way

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