NBA Free Agency: Does Adding Lakers to Wish List Hurt D-Will to Dallas?
Things just got a little more interesting in the sweepstakes for All-Star point guard Deron Williams.
And if you're a Dallas Mavericks fan, it might not be a good thing.
Sam Amick from SI.com has put together some interesting information involving the superstar free agent to be, saying that the Los Angeles Lakers—go figure—would be interested in the services of Williams if they somehow can't string together a swap of Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard.
"For the Lakers, Williams could be a possibility if Howard is not. A source close to the three-time All-Star said he would be interested in joining the Lakers, though it would have to be via a sign-and-trade deal. (Lakers point guard Ramon Sessions, who was acquired from Cleveland at the trade deadline, has a $4.5 million player option for next season.) The source said Williams' preference, however, is for the Nets to improve the roster sufficiently enough that he can feel good about staying put rather than fear a repeat of this season, when they finished 22-44. As for Dallas, which sacrificed its best chance to defend the title by preserving salary-cap space last summer in anticipation of this [year's] free-agent class, the source said of the Mavericks: "There's no longevity there." If owner Mark Cuban can clear enough space to sign a worthy sidekick for Williams, though, then maybe Williams would join his hometown team after all.
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So, as of this moment, it's not looking rather good for the Mavericks to lure their hometown kid back to Dallas if these unnamed sources are indeed accurate. But this is why we hate unnamed sources.
For the Lakers, obviously they need to start thinking about rebuilding their franchise, and they have the pieces to make some noise in the offseason, most notably Pau Gasol and Bynum. For months, the speculation has been trading Bynum for Howard, but both sides have been hesitant to pull the trigger on more than one occasion.
The main stipulation that would get Williams to play for a certain team would be if Howard is playing on that team—whether that would still be in Brooklyn with the Nets, the Mavs or even the Lakers.
The speculation of him wanting to stay in Brooklyn and be the main piece of the rebuilding for Jay-Z's team is also worrisome. The Nets do have some pieces to work with for the future, and Brooklyn is a very interesting market to think about staying in.
But it appears that the key statement in this whole scenario is if Mark Cuban can bring another star player to Dallas with their immense cap space.
The combination of Williams and Dirk Nowitzki is apparently not going to be enough to lure D-Will, especially if you have a chance to play with Kobe Bryant or stay in Brooklyn and help usher in a new era in the NBA in New York. Cuban has to go out and get somebody, anybody, that has the title of "free agent" next to their name and spend as much as he can.
However, the difficult concept here is that the majority of notable free agents are restricted and would still have entitlement to their current teams. The best free agents available in this class after Williams would be guys like Eric Gordon, Roy Hibbert, JaVale McGee, O.J. Mayo and Michael Beasley. And it's certain that Dallas would love to have one of those guys.
Barring a miracle from a higher power, you can cross off the idea of bringing Howard to Dallas, at least for this year, if he stays in Orlando for one more year. If things go the right way, then bringing Howard to Big D could be arranged in some fashion if Jerry Sloan becomes the coach in Orlando and turns Superman's head straight.
We're still two months away until free agency begins, and it's already getting hectic. Get your aspirin ready, folks.
