D-Will Reality Check

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Deron Williams for providing me with a much-needed reality check. You see, after news broke that he was coming to Jersey, I had all these crazy thoughts of making a run at the playoffs. Sure, I pretended that I could think objectively. I said that "they still have a ways to go", but really that was only to keep up the charade that I am an objective thinker. Really I just wanted to sing to the masses that we got D-Will and we got him for less than we offered for Melo. D-will is a real, legitimate superstar...something we have lacked since Jason Kidd lost the will to live because he was forced to play with Vince Carter...and something that will turn the fortunes of this franchise around. I was giddy.

And then today the obvious happened: D-Will committed his next year and a half to ... waiting and see what happens. He expressed initial concern over the trade, noting that "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about a team that was 17-40." Then when asked about signing an extension, he said "It all depends on how the next year goes...It's going to be a tough situation and it's going to be a tough year. There's so much that can go on between now and 2012 to even really discuss it. I won't know what I'm going to do until then." It was a nice reminder that even though we have him for the next year and a half, there is no guarantee that he will stick around for the long haul.

So what does that mean in the short term? Well, it means that GM Billy King has a LOT of work to do to show D-Will that he should stick around. The biggest asset that the franchise is obviously the brand new arena and new identity in Brooklyn. That is an easy way to get rid of the stink, but at the end of the day, they will still need to win games. That means King is going to have to be perfect with all his moves; after all this team is a year removed from 70 losses and will be lucky to avoid 55 this year.

Let's look at the current roster. Brook Lopez and Anthony Morrow should not be moved. Jordan Farmar, Travis Outlaw and Johan Petro are unfortunately signed to long-term deals. Sasha Vujacic and Kris Humphries are free-agents at the end of the year. Damion James and Brandon Wright are wild cards. Stephen Graham and Quinton Ross are useless. They have a lot of cap room and several draft picks so there is a lot of room to grow. The problem is that the 2011 free agency class is weak (Nene, David West, Zach Randolph) as is the 2011 Draft class.

If they are going to improve for the long-term they will need to spend their money wisely to add guys who fit the image of the team and are overlooked by the rest of the league. Then they will need to find a way to get rid of the terrible contracts handed to Outlaw, Farmar and Petro. The problem is that every team in the league knows how terrible those contracts are. There is no way that they give the Nets anything of significance unless they include Morrow in any trade.

I don't know how likely it is that he will be able to pull of any of the above. We may just need to hope that the Brookie Monster comes back, that Anthony Morrow learns how to do something beside shoot and that Damion James develops in 2011-2012. Oh, and one other thing - Deron Williams will need to take his player option of roughly $18 million for 2012-2013 and he will need to convince himself to stay in Brooklyn and then convince Dwight Howard to move North and not West.

D-Will to Jersey

I really try not to post while at work, but in light of this morning's stunning news, I couldn't resist. For those who haven't heard by now, All-Star Point Guard Deron Williams has been traded to NJ for Devin harris, Derrick Favors and 2-1st round draft picks. I have been scouring the web over the past week for any info on possible Nets deals and not once did this come up. Simply put, it is shocking. Oh, and I forgot to mention, amazing. I am really really really on board with this trade, even if the prelim reports out of Utah is that D-Will is not happy.

The reasons for my excitement are simple:

1. D-Will is an elite player and arguably the top PG in the game (apologies to Rondo and Rose who I rate slightly lower at this time)
   
2. He still has 1.5 years left on his contract before being a free agent. There is time to convince him that we have a plan and that we will be a contender.
3. There is a potential that he could help lure Dwight Howard here in 2012
4. We gave up less in acquiring Williams than we would have to get Anthony
5. I like D-Will a whole lot more than I ever did Anthony

I'm no fool - I know they still have a ways to go, especially after trading some of their best assets. I know all the hype - Favors is a potential cornerstone guy. I know he has the tools and the potential to be a stud in this league, but I'm never sold on the "potential" as ultimately it doesn't win anything. If in three years he is averaging 20/12 and a top-5 PF then, yeah, we will need to reevaluate the trade. But what happens if his career goes in another direction and he never realizes his potential, being stuck as a back-up who averages 11/6 - obviously the trade won't look terrible.

I also know that Brook Lopez has digressed this year, but I refuse to give up hope. I think he still has the potential to be the second best center in the league (uh-oh, I just used that word..but at least in this case we have seen it happen as little as two years ago) and I think D-Will's presence will be a gift from heaven. No longer will he need to be the go-to guy. No longer will he be blamed for the team's inefficiency - nope, now he can just go back to being Brook. I still see big things for him. As for the rest of the team, I think Kris Humphries, while not an All-Star, can still be effective in grabbing 10-12 rebounds a game. I also think Anthony Morrow will benefit from having a guard who can get him the ball in situations where he can succeed. And I think it means less minutes for Jordan Farmar who has been a disappointment.

The internet is buzzing with analysis. So far, my favorites is from SI's Zach Lowe. I will post more places to read about the trade as they come in. For now, let me say that I am uber-excited for D-Will and the Nets.

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In a totally unrelated note, my boy Jon Brockman pulled down 14 rebounds in 25 minutes (!!) of action last night. Coach Skiles - see what you get when you give the man more minutes!