Why Deron Williams Will Leave the New Jersey Nets If There Is No Dwight Howard

Without Dwight Howard, there is no Deron Williams for the New Jersey Nets.

The absence of Brook Lopez has taken a toll on both Williams and the Nets, leaving them with a 10-24 record and little hope of making the 2012 NBA playoffs.

D-Will has expressed his interest in joining forces with D12 in New Jersey/Brooklyn, but has recently been frustrated with the losing that's taking place with his Nets.

In order for the Nets to hang on to their beloved PG, they'll need to reel Howard in from Orlando.

Here are five reasons Deron Williams will leave the New Jersey Nets if they fail to acquire Dwight Howard: 

NBA Teams Need PGs

Great point guards have taken over the NBA of late.

Aside from the Linsanity in New York, the Clippers boast Chris Paul, the Oklahoma City Thunder have Russell Westbrook and, of course, there's the reigning MVP Derrick Rose for the Chicago Bulls.

But for teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks, the point guard position could use an upgrade.

For instance, Paul, Westbrook and Rose each average at least 18 PPG and 5.5 APG.

Lakers PG Derek Fisher is averaging a mere 5.2 PPG and 3.5 APG, while his backup Steve Blake is adding just 7.1 PPG and 3.0 APG.

Dallas veteran PG Jason Kidd is declining, as he's averaging the lowest PPG mark of his career at 5.1 and his lowest APG with 5.5

Deron Williams ranks second in the NBA among point guards, averaging 22.2 PPG and also dishing out 8.2 APG.

Williams would be an instant upgrade for most teams in the NBA at the point guard position, most notably the Lakers and the Mavericks.

If Dwight Howard isn't a Brooklyn Net in '12-'13, Deron Williams will be quarterbacking a different NBA offense next season.

D-Will Wants to Win

Deron Williams left the Utah Jazz in hopes of starting a winning tradition with the New Jersey Nets.

Nets fans are still waiting, and so is D-Will.

Playing alongside Brook Lopez seemed promising for Williams until Lopez suffered a stress fracture in his foot during the preseason, eliminating any hopes of a pick-and-roll game between the two.

Lopez returned to the lineup on Feb. 19 against the Milwaukee Bucks, netting just nine points in 22 minutes of action.

It's going to take Lopez a few weeks to find his game, and hopefully when he does, it'll either spark the Nets or attract the interest of the Orlando Magic to deal Dwight Howard to the Nets. 

Colin Stephenson of the Star Ledger quoted D-Will back in December as saying, 

"

"I just want to win. I want to be able to win. I'm 27. I'll be 28 when I sign a new deal. That will take me into my mid-30s. That's a big part of my career, so I just want to make sure I'm making the right decision and I'll look at all options just to be safe."

"

Though they recently beat the Derrick Rose-less Chicago Bulls and the "Linsane" New York Knicks, the reality for the Nets is they're not a winning team.

They sport a 10-24 record and find themselves in the cellar of the Eastern Conference.

At this point, the acquisition of Howard appears to be the only way for the Nets to win—and more importantly—for Williams to make the move to Brooklyn next season.

Lack of Evidence

Deron Williams hasn't shown any indications of remaining in New Jersey (or shall we say Brooklyn) without the signing of Dwight Howard.

Not coincidentally around the time the Nets were preparing a blockbuster package deal to land Dwight Howard, Williams told the media that he was 90 percent sure that he would stay in New Jersey.

ESPN's Mike Mazzeo also quoted Williams as saying, "My plan is to stay. Hopefully we get some good talent in here to where I can stay."

Nets fans were so ecstatic that Williams seemed poised to remain a Net that they failed to read the fine print.

"Some good talent" was code for Dwight Howard.

And as far as I know, the Nets don't currently have a 6'11", 265-pound center named Dwight on the roster.

ESPN's Chris Broussard writes that Williams has a wish list if things don't work out in New Jersey.

After a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 1, Williams vented his frustrations to the media, saying: 

"

We avoided a slow start. But then we finished bad, so we just need a full 48 minutes of basketball. We’re not getting it. I don’t know if we’ve ever shot over 40 percent in a game. We’re just not getting any easy looks, any easy baskets. We’re missing a lot of easy ones too.

"

Williams did discuss his poor play as well, but I'm willing to but D-Will is thinking that joining a better team will increase his quality of play as well.

There's no chance of Williams staying unless the Nets obtain Howard.

Williams Has a Wish List

Why would a player have a wish list if he was going to stay with his current team?

As stated earlier, Chris Broussard of ESPN reported that Deron Williams has a list of teams he would like to play for, which includes the Lakers, Mavericks and the Knicks.

Broussard published the article on Jan. 21, before Jeremy Lin took over the city, leaving me to believe the Knicks are probably on hiatus until we see how Lin pans out. 

Even so, the fact that Williams is even thinking about playing for a different team other than the Nets has to worry owner Mikhail Prokhorov and the entire Nets organization.

When Williams was asked about the apparent "wish list," it's reported that he said, "Did you hear it from me? We don't need to talk about it then. Another one of these sources. Sources. I don't know who sources are."

Those words from Williams appear to be him protecting himself from midseason speculation.

As for the wish list, Dallas makes sense. Williams is a native of Dallas and their current 38-year-old PG Jason Kidd is showing signs of breaking down.

Though it would be tough for the Lakers to clear cap room, Williams lives nearby in San Diego and probably wouldn't mind playing with Kobe Bryant.

If the Nets were to land D12, Brooklyn would jump to the top of the list for D-Will. 

Without D12, the Nets' Future Is Dim

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is building a landmark venue in the heart of Brooklyn in hopes of rebuilding a franchise around Deron Williams and Dwight Howard.

The only problem is that Prokhorov has only one of his stars right now, and without the acquisition of D12, he'll lose both of them.

In an interview with the YES Network, as reported by Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger, Williams shied away from comments about him playing with Howard in a Nets uniform: 

"

I never said that. People asked me. All I said was (the thought) made me smile. I like Brook (Lopez) a lot. He's definitely improved...I'm not just gonna go out and say I want another big man to replace him, because he can get the job done.

"

While Lopez is turning out to be a great draft pick by New Jersey, we all know Williams would drool over the idea of sharing an offense with the 6'11" center.

Stephenson also reported that Williams and Howard met for dinner before facing off against each other on Dec. 29, with Howard saying, "Since he’s been in the league, every time he comes to town, we go eat dinner and just kick it. We’ve been friends since the Olympics, and so we go out to eat, have a bite."

Prokhorov would love to see Williams and Howard sharing weekly dinner dates in New York City next season, but the fact remains that the Nets' future is extremely gloomy without D12 on the roster.

Without the acquisition of Howard, Williams will leave via free agency, leaving New Jersey without a pure scorer and an avid fanbase in Brooklyn.

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