NBA Trade Rumors: 10 Reasons Jazz Shouldn't Have Traded Deron Williams to Nets
I woke up this morning to rumors swirling about the Utah Jazz and New Jersey Nets finalizing a deal for point guard Deron Williams.
That takes the Carmelo Anthony drama and blows it away in terms of significance.
No one expected Williams to be on the move this season, though we all expected him to sign elsewhere in the offseason.
But trading a player like Williams is going to be a huge setback for the Jazz, one they likely won't recover from for a few years.
Here are 10 reasons the Jazz should not have traded their star point guard to the Nets.
10. He Might Have Re-Signed with the Jazz
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Sure, Williams has expressed some frustration with the way the Jazz have treated him, but that doesn't mean management should have raised the white flag just yet.
He hasn't demanded a trade or said anything publicly about wanting to sign elsewhere in the offseason.
Therefore, the Jazz owed it to their fans to try to sign him to a long-term extension, something they apparently didn't have any interest in.
9. Jerry Sloan Is Gone
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Williams and Sloan didn't get along, plain and simple.
Well, Sloan resigned, so there's no tension between Williams and the coaching staff now.
But with this trade, instead of a situation where the Jazz needed to choose between Sloan and Williams, they have chosen neither.
8. You Need an Elite Player to Compete in the West
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The Lakers have Kobe Bryant. The Thunder have Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. The Spurs have Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.
The Jazz have... Al Jefferson? Paul Millsap?
That's not going to cut it in the Western Conference. You need a star player or else you'll find yourself at the bottom of the conference standings.
7. The Jazz Have No Shot at the Playoffs Now
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With elite point guards like Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Steve Nash running the show in the West, the Jazz have no shot at the playoffs this year.
They go from a potential 5-8 seed to no chance of the playoffs if they make this trade.
The Suns, Hornets, Blazers and every other team on the playoff bubble should send a thank you note to the Jazz front office.
6. No Combination of Nets Players Can Replace Williams
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The proposed trade from the Nets involves the Jazz getting Derrick Favors and Devin Harris.
Harris would obviously try to fill Williams' shoes, but where is Favors going to play? The Jazz already have Mehmet Okur, Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap manning the trenches.
It just seems like Favors will get buried on the bench and become unhappy.
5. He Puts Fans in the Seats
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Williams was the superstar of the Jazz.
Without him, the Jazz lose the face of their franchise.
That will hurt them in the long run from a marketing standpoint. It will be interesting to see how much attendance suffers without Williams on the roster.
4. He's a Team Leader
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Yes, he had his problems with Sloan, but he was still the unquestioned leader of the Jazz.
Now this team will struggle to find a guy who will step up and fill that void in the locker room.
How much will Utah's team chemistry suffer without Williams?
3. He Makes His Teammates Better
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Williams is averaging 9.7 assists per game this season.
That's a remarkable number considering the supporting cast he had to work with in Utah.
Devin Harris simply can't put up those kinds of numbers in the assist column.
Expect Utah's points per game to dwindle because of this trade.
2. He Can Score, Too
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In addition to dishing out nearly 10 dimes per game, Williams is also averaging 21.3 points per game.
Harris is averaging only 15 points and 7.6 assists per game.
Harris isn't a bad player, but he's just nowhere near Williams' level.
Williams is one of the rare players in the NBA who can find the open guy or hit a shot from anywhere on the floor.
1. He's an Elite Point Guard
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Williams is in the discussion for "Best PG in the NBA."
He's unquestionably in a group along with Westbrook, Paul, Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo as the top young point guards in the game.
Why would the Jazz want to get rid of a guy like that?
They should have tried everything they could to convince him to sign an extension in the offseason.
It's too early to raise the white flag and give up on re-signing this guy.
The Jazz won't recover from this trade for years to come.
