Deron Williams Signs with Mavericks Following Nets Buyout

Deron Williams signed a contract with the Dallas Mavericks, the team announced.

Sean Highkin of Bleacher Report previously provided the Brooklyn Nets' release on Williams' buyout:

Marc Stein was the first to report on the buyout negotiations. On July 15, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post  reported Williams' buyout would be worth $27.37 million. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders noted the money would be spread out over five years of salary cap, with a hit of over $5 million in each of those seasons. 

The move has serious implications for the team's luxury-tax bill and future financial flexibility, according to Bleacher Report's Howard Beck:  

While Brooklyn will now be forced to roll with a platoon of Steve Blake and Jarrett Jack at point guard, the team's financial situation is much more palatable.

According to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst, the Nets were "facing paying the repeater tax, which would be the most punitive luxury penalty in league history," although an exact amount was elusive 

The New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy reported Friday that Williams and head coach Lionel Hollins had a heated exchange midway through the season: 

The Nets, who have now downgraded their talent at the point in the name of reducing their luxury-tax bill, owe their unprotected 2016 first-round pick to the Boston Celtics, which is great news for Brooklyn's Atlantic Division rivals, according to Bleacher Report's Michael Pina and The Brooklyn Game's Devin Kharpertian:

MeThe Mavericks can help improve an offense that added Wesley Matthews to an existing core of Chandler Parsons and Dirk Nowitzki this summer.

In 68 games with the Nets last season, Williams averaged 13 points—his lowest single-season mark since his rookie season. He also shot a career-worst 38.7 percent from the field while drilling 36.7 percent of his threes. 

Both the Mavericks and Nets will benefit from the buyout decision in different ways.

Williams' Brooklyn tenure was defined by relative underachievement after failing to advance past the second round of the playoffs each of the past three seasons, and it simply wouldn't have behooved the Nets to continue paying the point guard like one of the league's elite.  

Now with the Mavericks, he'll be presented with a chance to rehabilitate his stock and boost his numbers alongside some compelling offensive weapons.