The 75 greatest NBA players of the 2010s, ranked

66) Deron Williams

Three-time NBA all-star Deron Williams, at one point, looked like a future Hall of Famer after a stellar start to his career. Over the first four seasons of his career—all with the Utah Jazz—Williams put up 16.2 points and 8.7 assists per game and led them to the Western Conference Finals in 2007. It wasn't until his fourth season that he made his first all-star, however. 

Williams averaged 18.7 points and 10.5 assists in the first season of the decade and was an all-NBA second-team player. Despite that, the following season, the Jazz suddenly traded him to the New Jersey Nets rather than risk having him leave for nothing when he hit free agency. At the time, it seemed like a great deal for the Nets, who were about to move to Brooklyn and Williams did manage to have a couple of all-star seasons. Nevertheless, he began to decline in his late 20s and was waived after five and a half seasons there. 

He later signed with the Dallas Mavericks and had a decent season, putting up 14.1 points and 5.6 assists in 15-16 before finishing his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 16-17. Given how he was at one point compared favorably to future Hall of Famer and fellow 2005 draftee Chris Paul, Williams career feels like a disappointment. Even still, he still made three all-star teams, two all-nba teams, and put up a more than respectable 16.4 points and 7.7 assists in 535 games during the 2010s.