NBA Trade Deadline 2012: Deron Williams Is Key Player to Watch on Deadline Day

In the hours leading up to Thursday's NBA trade deadline, all eyes are going to be on the big guy in Orlando. If you think the Dwight Howard situation is a circus now, just you wait.

It's impossible to gauge the Howard situation. It's too fluid, and it seems like each new report that comes out contradicts the last. One minute, ESPN's Marc Stein is reporting that Howard won't waive his early termination option, and the next minute RealGM.com is reporting that he will.

What we know for a certainty is that the New Jersey Nets would love nothing more than to acquire the Magic superstar in a trade-deadline swap. ESPN's Chris Broussard summarized the situation quite nicely in a Wednesday report:

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While the Nets would love to get Dwight Howard as a free agent...their preference is to get him before the trade deadline; just because you never know what can happen in free agency.

They'd rather trade for Howard this week and have the security of knowing he's a Net, even if it means losing some of their good young pieces and draft picks. 

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Stein reported that the Nets have had the "most serious discussions" with Orlando about Howard. And if Howard decides once and for all (fat chance) that he doesn't want to commit to Orlando beyond this season, the odds are good that the Nets will be able to strike a deal for Howard.

As good as they're bound to get, anyway. Given the nature of the Howard situation, the general shape of things could change drastically. Through it all, the big question will be what the Nets have to do to land Howard.

A key secondary question is this one: What if it becomes obvious the Nets are not going to be able to deal for Howard? What then?

There's a school of thought out there that if the Nets can't get Howard, they may have to make a decision about star point guard Deron Williams, who can become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

If they have no assurances that they'll be able to make the oft-dreamed-of Williams/Howard tandem a reality, the Nets might just come to the conclusion that trading D-Will would be for the best.

Alex Kennedy of HOOPSWORLD suggested the possibility on Twitter:

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Dwight Howard hasn't signed the papers yet. Assuming he does, all eyes will be on Deron Williams and the New Jersey Nets. Do they trade him?

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) March 14, 2012"

Brian K. Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel suggested the same thing:

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Don't be surprised now to see NJ trade Deron Williams, given he was waiting on Howard

— Brian K. Schmitz (@MagicInsider) March 14, 2012"

Because the Nets are focusing primarily on Howard, it's not at all surprising that there aren't any sourced rumors about the Nets talking to teams about a potential Williams trade.

And for what it's worth, Alex Raskin of HOOPSWORLD reported late Wednesday night that the Nets aren't willing to trade D-Will at the deadline, regardless of what happens with Howard.

But it can be taken for granted that the Nets will have no trouble whatsoever finding takers for Williams if they catch a whiff of a potentially grim reality in which Williams walks in free agency after the team has failed to trade for Howard. There are a lot of point guard-needy teams out there, some of whom have assets to deal for a superstar like Williams.

To throw a totally random example out there, the New York Knicks are one of them. After Mike D'Antoni resigned, David Aldridge reported (via NBA.com) that D'Antoni had been pushing management to trade Carmelo Anthony for Williams, a deal that he figured would be "beneficial" for both teams.

A deal like that would definitely have its merits for the Nets, as Melo is under contract for a few more seasons. 

This is not to say that a Williams-for-Melo trade is the only deal the Nets could possibly make. If the chance to acquire any star with a couple years left on his deal arises, it's going to be very hard for the Nets to pass it up if they know for a fact that they're out of the running for Howard.

So if you plan on keeping an eye on the Howard situation on Thursday, keep another on the Nets. They clearly have their heart set on acquiring Howard now or later. If they find out that's not going to happen, they're going to have to draw emergency plans for a new organizational direction immediately.

Come 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, those plans may not include Williams.