NBA Trade Deadline 2012: 4 Reasons NJ Nets Must Move Deron Williams

The soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets received news they surely weren't hoping to hear this morning.

According to ESPN's Chris Broussard, Dwight Howard has informed the Orlando Magic that he is ready to sign away the early termination option on his contract and remain through the 2012-2013 season.

Therefore, he's now off the trade-deadline market and also off the free-agent market come the summer. This essentially ruins the master plan of the Nets, which was to situate Howard next to point guard Deron Williams and create their own super team before they move to Brooklyn.

Now, the hopes of such a super team not only look bleak, but can ultimately be put in the casket.

To make matters worse for the Nets, they now have to decide what to do with Deron Williams, who will be a free agent come the offseason and has no reason to remain with the Nets if Howard is not soon coming.

Therefore, they must do the inevitable: trade him now.

Here are four reasons why the Nets must bid farewell to D-Will today.

He Simply Won't Come Back

What's the point in keeping D-Will if it's obvious he's going to leave?

If Williams signs long-term with the Nets, he can kiss his chances of winning an NBA title goodbye. With a handful of teams that feature numerous All-Stars (Miami, Oklahoma City, Chicago), there's no way Williams can carry a team like the Nets to the NBA pinnacle.

Yes, Brook Lopez has been hurt, and if's he healthy for a full year the Nets could make the playoffs. But in the next five or more years, there's no way they'd upend Miami or Chicago come playoff time.

Quite frankly, Williams most likely perceives this and would surely prefer to soon sign with a team like Dallas (his hometown) or the Los Angeles Lakers (a quality team who's in desperate need of a point guard).

Now is not the time for the Nets to hold out hope that D-Will's going to return, because without Dwight Howard soon arriving, this hope has been dispelled. 

Compensation

Compensation plays a major factor in this. If the Nets don't receive anything for him, they will have created a disaster.

Around a year ago, they gave up a great deal to acquire Williams, trading promising young big man Derrick Favors, point guard Devin Harris and two first-round draft picks.

Can you imagine if a little over a year later Williams leaves for nothing?

This would be catastrophic for the Nets' organization.

They must trade him now to at least gain something in return for him, even if it's not ideally what they were hoping for.

Why Would Williams Wait Until 2013?

One might argue that the Nets shouldn't trade Williams, but rather hope he re-signs this offseason, and then they can pursue Howard as a free agent come the summer of 2013.

But Williams isn't going to be this patient. He's already spent part of last year and now this year around the subpar Nets, simply holding out hope that the Nets will soon lure Howard.

Why would D-Will wait another full year, in the midst of his prime, plainly hoping the Nets somehow come up with D12?

There's no reason for him to do this. First, there are other contenders he can soon sign with. Second, there's no guarantee Howard will even come to Brooklyn in 2013. And third, he's not going to re-sign long-term when the hopes of them bringing in another superstar are iffy. 

Therefore, it's not worth the Nets still holding out hope that a "Superman" and Williams duo is going to happen. Sorry, Nets fans, but it's time to shoot down this dream.

Future in Brooklyn

The future of the Nets in Brooklyn has already taken a major hit by Howard's decision to not opt-out this summer. They had planned their grand entrance to Brooklyn with both Deron and Dwight, but now it will likely not feature either of them.

What would make this entrance an even further dud is if they retain Williams for the rest of the season and watch him walk for nothing this summer.

The Nets at least need to acquire somebody for D-Will to give them at least a little bit of energy for their upcoming move. There needs to be at least some ray of hope for the future to get the fans in the stands in Brooklyn.

The Nets are clearly in a tough spot, but the wisest and almost inevitable decision is to trade D-Will before the deadline strikes. If they don't, they'll surely be regretting the mess they've created.