Deron Williams Waived by Dallas Mavericks

Deron Williams' time with the Dallas Mavericks has come to an end. Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press reported the Mavs waived the veteran point guard on Thursday. 

Earlier in the day, ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported the Mavericks were considering "possibly" buying Williams out of his contract so they can give Yogi Ferrell a more prominent role in their rotation.

Shams Charania of The Vertical reported the Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz showed trade interest in the former All-Star. Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press reported Williams is interested in joining the Cavaliers. 

It's been apparent Williams' run with the Mavs was likely going to end, one way or another, leading up to Thursday's trade deadline. 

The Mavericks were hoping to find a trade partner for Williams, with head coach Rick Carlisle even admitting Wednesday he held the veteran point guard out of practice because of the deadline, per Earl K. Sneed of the team's official website:

The Mavericks are at a point where they have to start looking toward the future. They have been a .500 team since a disastrous 4-17 start, but the core of their roster is built on players over the age of 30, like Williams, Dirk Nowitzki and Wesley Matthews. 

Williams, who is only under contract for the rest of this season, has been a solid performer with 13.1 points and 6.9 assists per game. The Mavericks just have no need for a player who will be 33 in June to stay for two more months. 

By getting his walking papers, Williams will be able to find a team with legitimate title aspirations in need of depth at point guard to finish the 2016-17 season.