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Dallas Mavericks: The Case To Re-Sign Deron Williams

By Cole Mentzel

Apr 11, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Deron Williams (8) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 11, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Deron Williams (8) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /
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Point guard will be one of the biggest interests for the Dallas Mavericks this summer and Deron Williams could be their best option.

The Dallas Mavericks will head into July looking for talent from two key positions: point guard and center. While their biggest need will be a new center, the point guard position provides many questions marks for 2016-17.

First off, both Deron Williams and Raymond Felton will be hitting the free agent market this summer. Both will be unrestricted free agents as Williams is expected to opt out of his current contract. This is an issue for the Mavs as the two guards were easily their best floor generals in 2015-16.

While either could be re-signed, Williams is the only one that makes sense as a starter. Felton proved that he was capable of taking over the reins last season, but, just like Devin Harris and J.J. Barea, I believe the Mavs like bringing him off the bench to provide an extra spark.

Should the Mavs decide to move on from Williams, they would be faced with a rather thin free agency market.

Mike Conley will be the the prized point guard available, but teams like the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks have already popped up as potential suitors.

With the thought of playing on a contender in San Antonio or the big city feel in New York, it’s unlikely that the Mavs would be able to attract Conley. Not to mention the fact that the Mavs will most likely give rather large contracts to both Chandler Parsons and a star center this summer.

That’s not saying that Williams will come cheap. With a solid season in 2015-16 and the skills of a proven player, he will be sought after, not to mention the fact that he will probably demand more than the $5 million a year he was making in Dallas.

The market drops off pretty fast after eliminating Conley and Williams from consideration. There’s Brandon Jennings, who’s recovering from an Achilles injury, and Ty Lawson, who had a terrible 2015-16 season with the Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers.

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    • One interesting option would be Jeremy Lin, who has a player option. He was a target for the Mavs last summer before he signed with the Charlotte Hornets. A few other names floating around are Mario Chalmers, Randy Foye and D.J. Augustin, but they certainly aren’t viewed as starting point guards.

    It’s obvious that the market is not favorable once you look past Mike Conley. With that in mind, you have to think Deron Williams would be the best option for the Mavs to pursue this summer. You could make the case that he’s the second-best point guard on the market.

    While going back to Williams might seem like the Mavs are simply settling for what’s left, that wouldn’t be the case at all.

    Check Williams’ stats from last season. First, he averaged 14.1 points per game, the most averaged by Mavs point guard since Devin Harris had 14.4 per game in 2007-08. To go along with that, Williams added added in 5.8 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game.

    Despite suffering from a few minor injuries, Williams still played a total of 68 games, averaging 32.4 minutes while shooting 41 percent from the field and 34 percent from three. His 87 percent free throw percentage was the highest of his career.

    Perhaps his most impressive stat was his average of 3.7 points in clutch time (via NBA.com/Stats), which was 0.9 more than any of his teammates.

    Williams also had a few memorable games this season.

    On Jan. 5, he hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer, giving the Mavs a 117-116 win over the Sacramento Kings in double-overtime. Then on Mar. 20, he dropped 31 points and 16 rebounds in a crucial overtime Mavs win against the Portland Trail Blazers.

    Let’s not limit Williams to just statistical achievements either. He was a big influence in the huddle and in the locker room, using experience and general knowledge of the game to help his teammates.

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    There are obvious concerns about bringing a player like Williams back, as he struggled with injuries and missed half of the first round of the playoffs, but the Mavs could use some consistency at the point guard position.

    The last time they had the same starting point guard in consecutive seasons was from 2007-08 to 2011-12 (Jason Kidd). Since then they’ve gone through Darren Collison, Jose Calderon, Jameer Nelson and Rajon Rondo.

    If the Mavs are successful this summer, they could potentially have four returning starters to pair with a superstar center, which you could argue was one of the biggest summers in the Mark Cuban era.

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    The point guard market will be lacking this summer. For the Mavs, the best option would be brining back Deron Williams so they can further develop the chemistry that was working last season.

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