NBA Rumors: One Way or Another, New Jersey Nets Will Have to Make a Big Trade

This season hasn't gone the way the New Jersey Nets envisioned. They didn't make a deal for Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard before the season tipped off, and superstar point guard Deron Williams hasn't been able to save the Nets from a 4-11 record.

Things aren't likely to get much better in the near future. The Nets will get a boost when Brook Lopez returns from his foot injury, but his presence in the lineup probably won't elevate the Nets from being a lousy team to being a playoff team.

If the Nets haven't reached a crossroads, they're fast approaching one. When they get to it, they're going to have to make a big deal. They can either trade for Howard, or they can trade Williams.

The harsh reality of the situation was captured in a recent article from Ramona Shelbourne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. She has it on good authority that the Nets and Magic have slowed their trade talks for Howard, which were reportedly centered around Lopez last month, and that they have figured out that they can either have Howard and Williams or neither of them.

"They can't even talk about that trade again until Brook Lopez comes back and proves he's healthy," said a league source. "And to be honest, I think New Jersey has kind of figured out that they're going to lose [Williams] unless they can get Dwight Howard there, too."

Like Howard, Williams is able to become a free agent at the end of the season, and there's simply not much incentive for him to stay in New Jersey if the Nets don't get Howard. They can certainly pay Williams, but other teams will offer more attractive opportunities for him to win.

This is why you're starting to see a lot of Williams trade scenarios pop up out there. Shelbourne hinted at a trade to the Lakers in her piece, ESPN's Chad Ford admitted in a Wednesday chat that a Williams for Carmelo Anthony swap is possible and ESPN's John Hollinger did the same in a Thursday chat.

And this is just the beginning. We still have about two months to go until the March 15 trade deadline. Unless the Nets start winning basketball games at an impressive clip between now and then, you can expect to hear more and more Williams trade chatter.

It will be just like last year, really.

If the Nets keep losing and a Howard trade remains an unlikely possibility, doing nothing simply won't be an option. They brought in Williams to give the franchise some much-needed hope, and so far it's not working out. The only way they can rekindle the team's hope is by bringing Howard in, or by sending Williams out.

It's not a sunny situation for Williams or the Nets. But sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do.