Deron Williams Trade: How The New Jersey Nets Outmaneuvered New York Knicks
After the New Jersey Nets missed out on Carmelo Anthony, everyone wrote off the Nets. After all, they've now missed out on two stars including LeBron James, though they were a long shot for him anyway.
Suddenly, the New Jersey Nets are back in the driver's seat after pulling off what may be a better move, trading Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, and picks for Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams. The move seemed to come out of nowhere, and they gave up a lot less to get a high-quality star.
By acquiring Deron Williams, and having the Knicks buy the farm to acquire Carmelo, the Nets actually became the winners in this whole fiasco. How so? Here's why.
Expressed Heavy Interest In Carmelo Throughout The Season
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By wanting Carmelo Anthony and staying in the hunt the entire time, even when they knew they were never really the favorite to acquire Anthony, they were playing the game perfectly.
It sounds bad to make a play this long and not get anything in return, and that's usually true. However, by continuing the bidding war as long as they did, the Nets put the plans in motion for a dramatic conclusion before the deadline.
They Made The Knicks Overpay
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When the Knicks finally did acquire Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, and others, they lost Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, and Timofey Mosgov on top of draft picks.
Yes, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups are a great duo to acquire, but that's a steep price to pay for anyone, especially someone who's not a consensus top five player in the game. The Knicks have now lost a lot of their youth to acquire these pieces, and their path to a title is not any more clear now than it was before the deal.
Nets Get Elite Point Guard
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At the end of the day, the Knicks have a dynamic duo. That is good for them, but to win a title you need a playmaking guard at the point or the 2. The Pistons had Chauncey Billups, the Lakers have Kobe, the Celtics have Rajon Rondo, and the list goes on.
The Nets now have that guard piece that they can build around. Devin Harris was thought to be that guy originally, but Williams is clearly the better guard. They still need more pieces, but Williams is that piece that can bring others to the Nets.
Nets Still Have Most Of Their Youth, Knicks Don't
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Part of the magic of New York was the youth that had been developing under Amar'e Stoudemire. Yes, they didn't have the win-loss record people were expecting, but they were improving.
With Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari and Timofey Mosgov gone, the Knicks have now created holes and have no one to fill them. Ronny Turiaf is the current starting center, and there isn't much behind Amar'e Stoudemire at the four position either. They still have Landry Fields, which is something.
The Nets, meanwhile, still have Brook Lopez and others who are quite young. The only net casualty they had with their trade is Derrick Favors, who is young and could go either way right now.
Knicks Don't Have Much Cap Room For 2012
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The separate Eddy Curry deal was done as a necessity for the New York Knicks, as they needed to get rid of some money to re-sign Carmelo Anthony. Going off the center issue, they now are going to be cap-strapped if they want to get an elite center.
When Chris Paul becomes a free agent, they may not have much money for anyone else if they decide to sign him.
Carmelo Is Not an Elite Player
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With how much the Knicks paid the Nuggets, you would think Carmelo Anthony is a top three player in the NBA. He's not. He's not in the top five, or even the top 10. Is he in the top 20? I would say so, but the fact that I have to go down that far says a lot.
ESPN's Tom Haberstroh wrote something up on this back in August, and others have been noting recently as well that when you look at player efficiency, as opposed to solely scoring, Anthony falls to around 20th in the league in his best year.
The Knicks gave up the farm for the 20th most efficient player, essentially. He's an elite scorer, yes, but if he's going to be their top option, then there has to be more to him than that.
The Nets Kept Focus Away From Utah
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Had Nets expressed a strong interest in acquiring Deron Williams, it is likely that other teams would have gotten involved and driven the price up. How do we know this? That's exactly what the Nets did to the Knicks.
By putting all of the media attention on the Melodrama, the price for Anthony continued to rise. Meanwhile, who knows how long the Nets were in talks with the Utah Jazz. They may have been talking for weeks with the Nets knowing they weren't going to get Carmelo. Maybe the "man talk" Mikhail Prokhorov was referring to was an acknowledgement by both sides that the Nets wouldn't continue pursuing him.
While far-fetched, if that's the case then that was the most media-savvy move by a sports owner we have seen. Even if the above is a pipe dream, making this move without anyone picking up on it was nonetheless genius on the part of the Nets, especially because it kept the price down on Williams.
Knicks Are Now Overconfident
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With the addition of Deron Williams, how many Nets fans are expecting to win a championship with the team they have? None, they know they still have work to do.
With the addition of Carmelo Anthony, how many Knicks fans are expecting championships? Most are. They've been waiting for that marquee star, and are looking for a title. Whether they win or not will be dependent on who they acquire in this and the following offseasons.
Either way, neither team can win an NBA title as they are right now, as much as the Knick's fans might want to think so. While the Knicks are looking to grabbing Chris Paul and expect a title, the Nets can continue to work behind the scenes and make some moves to gain ground in the East.
Nets Traded Devin Harris at Perfect Time
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Using Devin Harris to acquire Deron Williams was a great move. This year, Harris was averaging 15 points and 7.6 assists a game.
While those aren't bad numbers, Williams was averaging 21 and 10. The numbers for Harris are the lowest in his time with the Nets, and it looked like he needed a change of scenery. Where better to improve as a point guard than Utah, who have had many great ones over the years?
The Nets Trade With Utah Was The Best One
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The trades in the NBA that end up working the best are the simple trades. When you trade a slew of players for another slew of players, no matter who the prize may be, it causes problems with chemistry and the like.
Even when those problems are solved, these deals don't work. Cleveland made more than enough of those deals, yet had no championships to show for it. How many titles did the Nets win after that big Jason Kidd trade? Or how about the Mavericks, who actually did sell the farm to acquire Kidd from New Jersey?
By avoiding that kind of a deal, especially when the Nets have been involved in them before and know the risks, they got off easy. By making a simple one great player for a good one, picks, and a prospect trade, the Nets can continue to build, without being stuck with all these excess pieces.
Were Nets Looking at Deron Williams All Along?
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In the final piece of the maneuvering puzzle, when Mikhail Prokhorov said the Nets would no longer be considering an Anthony deal a few weeks back, he apparently meant it. It was a short time later that Jerry Sloan resigned, opening up the possibility of a Deron Williams trade.
Devin Harris was already going to be shipped off at some point, so this fit perfectly. While this deal was being set up, the Nets jumped back into the race for Carmelo. Suddenly the Nets moves look less coincidental and more a part of a major plan in case Carmelo would not come.
Needless to say, this plan worked perfectly. Even if the Nets didn't get the top prize of the trade deadline, they played the game the best of any team.
