Deron Williams to Nets: Will They Be Better Off Without Carmelo Anthony?
The New Jersey Nets have pulled off perhaps the best trade of this NBA season, acquiring Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz for Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and some draft picks.
The move came as a bit of a surprise because no one really thought that Williams was currently on the trading block. His contract runs through next season, and though it seemed like he was going to leave Utah, it was assumed that he would at least finish this year with the Jazz as they march toward the postseason.
Instead, the Nets moved on from Carmelo Anthony really fast and landed a player more valuable to them than 'Melo would have been. They flipped a good point guard and a rookie power forward for one of the top point guards in the NBA.
But will the Nets be better off without Anthony? They got a more valuable player in Deron Williams, but does that necessarily mean they will be better?
Here is why I believe that the Nets are much better off with this deal, as opposed to the Carmelo Anthony deal.
Williams Is An All-Star Point Guard
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Being an All-Star point guard, which Deron Williams is, is much more valuable than being an All-Star small forward, which Carmelo Anthony is. Point guard is the most important position on the floor, and the Nets have just acquired one of the best in the NBA.
Just based on positional value alone, Williams is more valuable than Anthony.
Williams Plays Defense
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Carmelo Anthony will score a lot of points, but he has never been a good defender. Part of that could be because the system they run in Denver doesn't ask people to play defense. Part of that could just be his unwillingness to play defense.
Deron Williams has been a good defensive player throughout his NBA career. He is not necessarily a lock down defender, but he will at least give you some effort on the defensive side of the ball, which is more than you can say about Anthony.
Williams Has Less Wear-And-Tear On His Body
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Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams are both 26 years old, but they do not have the same amount of mileage in their bodies.
Anthony came into the NBA in 2003 after one year in college. He has played professionally for seven years.
Williams came into the NBA in 2005 after three years in college. He has played professionally for five years.
Williams has played 164 fewer NBA games than Anthony, not including the postseason. That's a significant amount of time. Athletes, no matter how great they are, have a finite number of games in their body before they start to break down.
I'm not saying that Anthony is going to break down soon, but it is more likely that he slows down sooner than Williams does. This gives the Nets even more long-term value by dealing for Williams instead of Anthony.
Williams Has Become A Great Scorer
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Carmelo Anthony only does one thing on the court—score. He is a decent rebounder, but not great by any stretch of the imagination.
Williams entered the NBA with a lot of questions about his ability to score. Five years into his career, Williams is averaging a career best 21.3 points per game, while still averaging nearly 10 assists per game.
Williams has worked to improve every aspect of his game during his time in the league. Anthony seems content to be a great scorer and nothing else. If you like a one-dimensional player, Anthony is the man for you.
Williams Is A Better Shooter Than Anthony
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In addition to improving his scoring, Deron Williams has become a very reliable shooter. This year, he is shooting nearly 46 percent from the field and 35 percent from three-point range. In his career, he is shooting 47 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc.
Anthony has never been a great shooter, but has gotten a little better as time has gone on. He is shooting 45 percent from the field this year. For his career, he is a 46 percent shooter from the field.
The difference doesn't seem like that much, but when you factor in Williams is a point guard shooting at a high percentage, that makes him more valuable as a shooter than Anthony. Anthony ranks 12th among small forwards in shooting percentage. Williams ranks 10th among point guards.
However, Anthony ranks 15th in the NBA among small forwards in two-point field goal percentage at 47 percent. Williams ranks 7th in the NBA among point guards in the same category at 51 percent.
The Knicks Gave Up A Lot To Get Carmelo
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What's the old saying "In order to get something, you have to give up something." Well, the Knicks gave up what little depth they had on their roster in order to acquire Carmelo Anthony. This is a team that has hovered around .500 all year long, but we are supposed to think that by acquiring one player and giving up four they will be much better off?
I understand why the Knicks made the move, but they could have signed someone as a free agent with all the money that they had coming off their books, keeping the base of the team intact. Instead, they gave up four key players to their team, and took on Chauncey Billups' $14 million salary for next year.
The deal didn't make a lot of financial sense for the Knicks, but they will sell a few more tickets this year. When the fans get mad that they haven't won a title or are even contending for a title next year, they will go away again.
The Nets Kept Almost All Of Their Key Pieces
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Unlike the Knicks acquisition of Carmelo Anthony, the Nets gave up Devin Harris, who is a nice player but not a superstar, and Derrick Favors, a rookie loaded with potential but still very raw. There's not one GM in the NBA that wouldn't have taken this deal if Utah came to them with it.
Plus, the Nets didn't have to give up Brook Lopez, the most underrated big man in basketball, or the expiring contract of Troy Murphy, which a lot of teams still covet.
The Nets still have to surround Williams and Lopez with some talent, but are well positioned to make a move into contention in another year or so. In fact, you could make a case that they are better off right now than the Knicks are.
The Nets Have A Star At The Point And At Center
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The two hardest positions on an NBA team to fill are point guard and center.
Point guard is difficult to fill because of the demands of the position. Whoever is running point is responsible for the entire offense. Some guys can handle it and others can't.
Center is difficult to fill because you never know what you are going to get from a big man. Most GM's like to think they can turn a 7-footer into the next Shaquille O'Neal, but in reality most of them turn into Michael Olowokandi.
With the acquisition of Deron Williams, to go along with Brook Lopez, the Nets have one of the best point guard-center combos in the NBA. They still have to fill the three other positions on the court, but the two most difficult to fill are well taken care of for this team.
Carmelo Anthony Is Overrated
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There I said it.
If you have read the first eight slides you probably get the idea that I don't like Carmelo Anthony. That's not entirely true. I haven't ever met him personally, so I have no personal vendetta against him. I do call things as I see them, and for Carmelo Anthony to be considered a superstar player is ridiculous.
In sports we are so fascinated with raw numbers. We love to look at a baseball player who hit a lot of home runs and call them great. We love to look at a quarterback who throws for a ton of yards and call them great. We love to look at basketball players who score a lot of points and call them great.
One of the great things about the new scientific element of sports is that you can get a much better read on how "great" someone really is.
What has Carmelo Anthony ever done that makes him worthy of being called a superstar?
He scores a ton of points, but he is not a great shooter. He gets some rebounds, but he is not a great defender. He has been a part of playoff teams every year of his career, but he has never made anyone else on the team better.
Carmelo Anthony Is Overrated (Cont'd.)
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Would the Nets have been better off today if they had acquired Carmelo Anthony instead of Deron Williams? No.
The Nets' biggest problem has been drafting and developing players. They hit big with Brook Lopez two years ago, but other than that they haven't had much success lately.
Bringing Carmelo Anthony in would not have been smart for this team. They would be in the same position that the Knicks find themselves in right now, with Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire surrounded by....what?.
The Nets, while they will miss out on the playoffs this year, can move ahead of the Knicks next year, depending on the moves that they make, because they now have a great point guard to go along with a great center.
Anthony will score a lot of points, like he always has, but he is not going to bring a championship to New York.
This was a great move by the Nets, and one that will pay dividends for them sooner than Anthony will for New York.
