NBA Rumors: Why Kevin Garnett Won't Keep Deron Williams From Bolting Nets

It's been a rough 2012 for the New Jersey Nets, to say the least.

Off the court, the team has failed to bring in a star like Dwight Howard to keep point guard Deron Williams in a Nets uniform.

The team has also failed on the court, where a 16-35 record leaves them among the worst teams in the NBA.

Now they must worry about their chances of keeping Williams beyond this season.

They gave away a potential top-five pick in June's draft (top three protected) to acquire Gerald Wallace, and there isn't a ton on the open market this season that could entice Williams to stick around.

The latest attempt by the Nets to potentially keep Williams is by targeting power forward Kevin Garnett in the offseason.

According to multiple sources and a report from Stefan Bondy in the New York Daily News, the Nets will have roughly $8 million to work with this summer after renouncing the rights to Kris Humphries. With that, the team will target Garnett and Ersan Ilyasova in free agency.

While that's a nice thought, Garnett won't be enough to keep Williams from leaving New Jersey.

Despite having a nice 2012 season in which he's averaging 15.4 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game, Garnett is closer to retirement than another NBA championship.

His production is likely to keep going down, as will the minutes he's able to play on a nightly basis.

There's simply no attraction for Williams sticking around to play with a soon-to-be 37-year-old forward, who is past his prime.

If that's what the Nets are banking on to improve their team and their odds of keeping Williams, they should probably turn to Plan B pretty quick.

As for Ilyasova, he's a nice player with a good future ahead of him, but he's not going to keep Williams around either.

It's going to be an interesting offseason for the Nets, but they shouldn't think twice on passing on Garnett. If this team can't compete right now, it's time to build for the future. Bringing in a 37-year-old, whose best days are behind him, makes very little sense.

I know the Nets want to bring in talent to attempt to appease Williams, but they would be much better off spending their money in other areas instead of throwing it at a guy looking to hang on for another year or two.