Deron Williams a New Jersey Net: Why Kevin Durant Should Be Excited
Did any of us see this trade coming?
Sure, there were plenty of slide-shows and articles being written about Deron Williams and where he should go at the end of next season, but did any of us expect him to land in New Jersey at all, let alone this year?
According to Yahoo sports, the deal is done and Deron Williams will be in a Nets uniform soon. Williams is already the best point guard the Nets have had since Jason Kidd and will help ease the loss of Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks.
With Carmelo and Williams headed to the East and rumors of Chris Paul headed to New York in a year, Kevin Durant has to be loving the paths that are clearing out West.
New Jersey Nets Land Deron Williams
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The deal in place sends Deron Williams to New Jersey for Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and two first round picks to Utah. This trade gives the Nets a top five point guard to build around and most certainly knocks Utah out of the playoff picture out West.
Great Migration
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LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Deron Williams, Derrick Rose, Joe Johnson and Dwight Howard are now all in the Eastern Conference.
As we saw only a few days ago, the West still has a whole lot of talent and defeated the Eastern Conference All-Star team, controlling the game for nearly 48 minutes.
The problem is, the talent out West is old. Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Paul Gasol and Steve Nash are all in their thirties.
Is Chris Paul Next?
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The Wedding Toast is almost complete. Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire are anxiously awaiting their point guard.
If Chris Paul leaves the West, the Eastern Conference will have Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, Deron Williams and Chris Paul.
Who This Benefits: Thunder Up!
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Kevin Durant should have a huge smile on his face this morning.
In the Northwest Division, the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz will join the Minnesota Timberwolves in re-building mode. The Portland Trailblazers often battle injuries and have a center in Marcus Camby who is considering retirement and a point guard in Andre Miller who isn't exactly young.
Ahead of them in the standings are three older teams. The Thunder will have a hard time getting by the Lakers, Mavericks and Spurs this year (and probably next year too), but soon the youth of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook should be able to make a run to the NBA Finals.
Also, if Chris Paul leaves, Westbrook will have firm control over the rights to best point guard in the West.
Portland Trailblazers
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If the Portland Trailblazers could ever figure out their health issues, they are in a very good position.
They have two All-Star caliber players in Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge to build around. If Greg Oden could ever become healthy, they would have a young center to go along with the continually improving Wesley Matthews.
Just like the Thunder, they will benefit from having three teams in their division re-building.
Los Angeles Clippers
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The Clippers could actually become extremely relevant in the Western Conference.
They have Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon to build around. They have Baron Davis to lead them for the next few years then Eric Bledsoe to take over the reigns at point guard. Randy Foye and Ryan Gomes are great guys to have as role players and DeAndre Jordan has proven to be a quality young center. If they trade away Chris Kaman for a quality small forward, this team suddenly could be a top six team out West as early as next year.
The Eastern Conference Playoffs Will Be Brutal
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This year will be a slight taste of what's to come. Next year could be the full eight course meal.
Here's a look at the future of the Eastern Conference:
Boston Celtics
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The San Antonio Spurs have proven that even old guys can continue to surprise and lead the NBA in wins.
The Boston Celtics have a very good chance at winning the title this season and should have one more year with this core group of guys atop the Eastern Conference.
After that, they can stay relevant if Danny Ainge makes the right moves. They have their franchise point guard in place, Rajon Rondo, and if they hang onto Kendrick Perkins, they have one of the best defensive centers in the league.
Ray Allen looks like he could play for another twenty years, Paul Pierce is under contract until 2013/14 and Kevin Garnett could still be effective late in his career the way Tim Duncan and even Shaquille O'Neal are now.
Miami Heat
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LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh under contract for years to come.
The Miami Heat should fall no lower than a No. 3 seed in the next eight years.
Chicago Bulls
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Right now, Derrick Rose is the best point guard in the NBA.
Luol Deng and Joakim Noah are still relatively young.
Carlos Boozer has several more good years in him.
If they can insert a young shooting guard, the sky is the limit for this team.
Orlando Magic
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They have the most dominant center in the league.
The problem is, Dwight Howard may be looking at the Eastern Conference landscape and realizing a move out West could be his best bet at returning to the NBA Finals.
Atlanta Hawks
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The Atlanta Hawks are not making a lot of drastic moves because they don't really have to. They have three of their starting five figured out between Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Al Horford. Ideally, they want a true center so they could shift Horford over to power forward and eventually insert a younger point guard for Mike Bibby.
The Hawks may be forgotten about with all the new stars coming to the East, but they remain right in the hunt for the No. 5 or No. 6 seed.
New York Knicks
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We will see a glimpse of how the Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire pairing works tonight. Whatever the performance is against the Milwaukee Bucks, it will only get better for the Knicks.
Expect the Knicks to challenge Boston for the Atlantic Division crown in two years.
Dare I Say New Jersey Nets
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Deron Williams is a better piece to build around than Danny Granger, Gerald Wallace or Brandon Jennings.
The Nets do not have nearly enough pieces right now, but insert a solid pick-and-roll power forward into this starting five with Brook Lopez as the center and the Nets will be an appealing destination for talented guards to come play.
The Nets will not make the playoffs this year, but with the right off-season moves to go along with Deron Williams, they could grab the No. 8 seed next season.
Philadelphia 76ers
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The 76ers are one of the youngest teams in the NBA. They also have one of the best coaches.
It will be hard for this current roster to ever win the Atlantic Division or climb to a No. 4 or No. 5 seed, but they should be in the playoff picture for the next five years.
The East Will Be The New West
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Dating as far back to the Michael Jordan era, the Western Conference was always more competitive from top to bottom than the East. The East sometimes had the better top three teams, but the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds often would not have made the playoff picture out West.
With all the young talent flooding into the Eastern Conference, we can expect rounds one through three to be extremely competitive for years to come.
On the other hand, Kevin Durant's future path to the Finals just got a whole lot easier giving him one big reason to smile.
