Deron Williams

Deron Williams
PG, 6’3, 200lbs, 33 years old, 12 years of experience

The backup point guard spot was a hole on the roster all year, with the expectation being that it could be addressed with mid-season buyouts, perhaps with an eye on Deron from the start. However, he was almost entirely a non-factor in the playoffs, and especially so in the Finals. Any good opposing defence limits his ability to shoot mid-range jump shots off the dribble, his main value as a player at this point, in addition to forcing quite a few lost ball turnovers from a man brought in primarily to be a reliable ball handler. Williams is no starter any more, nor did he prove to be an altogether reliable back-up. Needs a bounce-back year.

Player Plan: Expiring minimum salary and did not show himself to be worthy of another one.

[...] Going into the playoffs, they still have these problems. Deron Williams has joined as a backup point, yet his handle and ball security seems to have disappeared along with his speed, and his name far outweighs his talent at this point. Similarly, up front, the injury to the foreseeably-available Andrew Bogut was unfortunate, but the fact that that even really matters speaks to the recklessness of entering a season with a wobbly roster hopeful that deadline-time buyouts will be enough to plug up the gaps. The holes in their roster, the over-reliance on Tristan Thompson for interior defense, on LeBron for passing and on Kevin Love for rebounding, were all avoidable. [...]

New York and New Jersey made the two biggest moves by acquiring the two All-Stars, Williams and Anthony. The Knicks finally closed the deal on the Anthony saga, their additional acquisition of Chauncey Billups and their retention of Landry Fields keeping the price tag just about on the right of 'acceptable.' Meanwhile, the Nets's genuinely staggering trade for Williams, whilst ultimately a backup plan, turned out to be better then their original plan. If their intention was to chase Melo for half a year, then give up and trade less in a deal for a better, cheaper player with less mileage on the clock, then they pulled it off beautifully.