Each NBA team’s most devastating injury in franchise history

Most devastating injury in Brooklyn Nets history: Deron Williams

Midway through the 2010-11 season, the then-New Jersey Nets believed they found the man who would bring them back to prominence ahead of their impending move to Brooklyn when they traded for Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams.

Initially, the partnership looked promising. Williams averaged 21.0 points and 8.7 assists per game on 52.7 percent true shooting in his first full season with the Nets during the lockout-shortened.

Granted, the team still stunk — the Nets finished 22-44 that season — but Williams provided hope for a franchise that won only 12 games two seasons earlier.

The Nets front office seemed to feel the same way, as they spent the next two years spending money and mortgaging their future to build a contending team around their shiny, slightly used floor general. And it could have worked if it weren’t for Williams’ injuries.

Chronic ankle injuries kept Williams in and out of the Brooklyn lineup between 2013 and 2015. When he did play, it was clear that he wasn’t the centerpiece star that the franchise envisioned.

The ankle problems sapped Williams of his explosiveness, which made getting by defenders and creating for himself and others a tougher task. Additionally, the lack of lateral quickness made his already sketchy defense (-2.1 defensive box plus/minus in his first seven seasons) even worse.

Basically, Williams became a high-end version of Kendall Marshall, which in turn made Brooklyn’s win-now trades and signings to surround him with veteran talent — particularly the infamous 2013 draft night trade with the Boston Celtics — look far worse in hindsight.

The Nets have slowly recovered from those disastrous moves, but those decisions wouldn’t have looked as bad if they had the version of Williams that they traded for instead of the one that they got.