Deron Williams: 5 'Out Cards' for Brooklyn Nets

Deron Williams glared his way through the Nets’ final season in New Jersey, making zero effort to hide his frustrations.

He finished the year in couture street clothes, nursing minor calf pain as his team sheepishly exited through the back door of the Garden State.  Along the way, he opted out of the final year of his contract, admitted he was banking on the Dwight Howard deal and swept a token fly swatter at all the Dallas rumors.

The Nets are now in Brooklyn, but D-Will is not.  Is his departure also in black and white, or is Brooklyn still sitting at the table with chips to play?

Here are five “out cards” which could keep No. 8 in Jay Z threads this fall:

The Dallas Deal Doesn't Look as Good as It Used to

D-Will played his high school ball in the DFW metroplex and watched Mark Cuban build an empire.  The Mavericks won 50 games 11 straight seasons, had the best cheerleaders in the NBA and presented the top fan experience in any arena.  As Williams opened the final season in Jersey with a banged-up roster and no prayer for the playoffs, he peered over the fence and saw Dallas handing out world championship rings. 

Now the grass on the other side of that fence is starting to fade.

Dirk is no longer an MVP player. Still fantastic, but declining as Williams hits his prime.

The Mavericks nabbed their trophy right before the window closed, and now they’re chasing the younger Thunder and Clippers, while still in the shadow of San Antonio.

Williams knows Dallas would need even more than his point guard prowess to keep up with the other teams in the West.

Unless Cuban clearly presents a plan for a championship roster, D-Will’s not making the move from an average team to a bubble team.

New York City Means Big Endorsements

Williams isn’t shy about diving into this pool.  Metro PCS, Bonobos and all kinds of advertising suitors made life comfy for the Nets point guard, even while he was still in New Jersey.  Playing ball in Brooklyn comes with NYC billboards and spotlights, even if we’re not talking Madison Square Garden. 

Dallas-Fort Worth is a top-five media market, but it doesn’t have the international appeal of New York, or the global mystique of Brooklyn.  

Flighty Dwight Suddenly Works to Brooklyn's Advantage

Williams says he’d probably have already committed to the Nets were they able to trade for Dwight Howard, as promised to him in the Brooklyn blueprint.   

Plan B for D-Will appeared to be signing with Dallas, then having Cuban move money around to eventually get Superman to join Deron and Dirk.

Williams is friends with Howard, but like the rest of us, he can see why it’s impossible to count on Dwight’s attitude and decision making.  Basing a personal choice on what Howard might do…is like going all in on 2-7 off-suit.

Lightning Doesn't Strike Twice

If the Nets were going to have an injury season from hell (sorry, Jersey), better this past season than in the inaugural year of the Barclays Center.

The wheels came off before opening tip, when center Brook Lopez went down.  Having a seven-footer who can score in the low post gives D-Will all kind of options and frees up Kris Humphries (leaning toward re-signing) for monster double-doubles.  They were doomed without their frontcourt anchor. 

Before the broken foot, Lopez was an iron man, playing 82-game seasons for each of his first three years in the league.  Gerald Wallace and MarShon Brooks are resilient.  There’s no reason to think this injury plague will carry over into Brooklyn.

The roster, minus the first-aid crosses, looks young enough and competitive enough to open the Barclays Center with hope for the future.

The Nets Will Be Deron Williams' Team. Period.

Mikhail Prokhorov is the owner.  He’ll be at the home games…sometimes.

Jay Z made the uniforms.  He won’t be wearing one on the court.

Avery Johnson keeps the focus on his players.  He’s in Brooklyn to stay…at least, until the team strays from the playoff promises and the novelty wears off for season-ticket holders.

Is it GM Billy King’s team?  Yikes—he has the warmest seat of everyone arriving in Brooklyn.

…As for Deron Williams, if he stays…this is his team.

He’ll continue to be the assistant GM.  He’ll continue to determine which players get to be his teammates.  He’ll continue to run the offense.  He’ll continue to be the mouthpiece and face of the franchise.

Deron can’t get that in Dallas.

He can’t sneak off to the Lakers and hop in the captain’s chair.

Any team with the roster power to lure Williams will be able to offer him fellow stars, but not the key to their city.

There’s one team who will do all that for him.  And give him a max deal, with No. 1 market endorsements, on a billion-dollar stage in New York.

The Brooklyn Nets.