Deron Williams Vs. Carmelo Anthony: Which NBA Player Is Better to Build Around?
Deron Williams and Carmelo Anthony are the latest superstars to take their talents to New York City.
Both of them are great players, but the atmosphere of Manhattan and Brooklyn will be much different than that of Salt Lake City and Denver.
With the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets acquiring two young stars in hopes of competing for NBA championships, which player is better to build a team around?
They are different types of players playing two different positions, but they share many similarities.
Both are very good scorers, and have experience being the face of a franchise.
With each player in the midst of career seasons, the time is right to compare their value to their new teams.
Let’s take an in-depth breakdown at Williams and Anthony’s cases for being the better player to build a franchise around, starting with offensive skills.
Scoring
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Carmelo Anthony is the best pure scorer in the NBA. He has unlimited range from the floor, showcased by his lethal combo of a deadly mid range shot and the ability to shoot three pointers well.
Melo can also take the ball to the basket with authority, and absorb contact when fouled.
Anthony is averaging 25.3 points per game this season, and was the Nuggets’ only consistent offensive weapon.
Deron Williams cannot beat you in as many ways offensively that Melo can, but his ability to score is amazing for a point guard.
Williams is averaging a career high 21.3 points per game this season, which is about four points higher than his career average.
While Williams is not going to shoot off the dribble as well as Anthony, he does have the same excellent range from deep.
Both players are exceptional offensive talents, but Anthony can score in every way efficiently, and thus gets the advantage in scoring.
Passing
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Since Deron Williams is a point guard, this comparison is a landslide win for the former Jazz star.
He is averaging 9.7 assists this year, almost a full assist better than his career average.
Williams is a perennial league leader in assists, and has made former teammates Paul Millsap, and Al Jefferson better players.
Williams runs an offense brilliantly, and is the rare point guard who can balance running the offense with the pressure to score a lot too.
Anthony is not a bad passer by any means, but it’s not a strength of his game.
Melo has a career average of 3.1 assists per game, but with a superstar teammate in Amar'e Stoudemire in New York, his assists are likely to increase.
All things considered, Williams wins the passing comparison.
Rebounding
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While both Deron Williams and Carmelo Anthony are certainly not known as great rebounders, neither is poor at the job either.
Anthony has a career average of 6.3 rebounds per game, which may surprise many people.
This season Melo is grabbing 7.6 rebounds per game, over a rebound more than his career average.
Denver’s lack of size gave Anthony a chance to pull down more rebounds than he would on most other teams, but with the Knick’s lack of size Melo might keep his 7.6 average.
Williams is averaging 3.9 rebounds per game this season, a bit better than his career average.
Anthony is a better rebounder in terms of skill, and his position offers more chances for rebounding as well, which gives him the edge here.
Clutch Factor
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Deron Williams and Carmelo Anthony have taken their share of last-second game-deciding shots over the years.
With that said, Anthony has had Chauncey Billups, a pressure shot master by his side for the last several seasons in Denver.
Williams has never had a go-to scorer to feed the ball to in crunch time during his tenure in Utah.
With that said, I will judge this on an individual basis.
Anthony is the better late-game player because he presents more ways to hurt you offensively than Williams.
I would rather have Carmelo shoot a three-pointer, drive to the basket, or shoot a midrange fadeaway jumper for the win.
Melo creates his own quality shot better than Williams, and with defenses keying on Melo to have the ball late in games, the ability to create a good shot attempt against intense defensive pressure is necessary.
Advantage Anthony.
Leadership
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Deron Williams was the leader on the Utah Jazz, not only due to his role as point guard, but as the primary scoring option and burden of being the franchise player.
Carmelo was always the biggest scoring threat in Denver and was the face of the franchise as well, but he’s not a leader.
Williams’ disputes with former longtime Jazz coach Jerry Sloan have been well documented, but his disagreements with Sloan do not show a lack of leadership.
The veteran leader of the Nuggets was Chauncey Billups. Other established veterans such as Nene and Kenyon Martin were also better leaders than Melo.
Williams, like most point guards, is an assertive player, and he knows what everyone’s job is on a given play.
Anthony is a great player, but he’s not a leader.
His immaturity during the entire saga surrounding his future, plus his comment of his handling of the situation “I pat myself on the back,” tells you everything.
Willingness to Learn/Be Coached
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Going back to Williams’ troubles with Jerry Sloan, it’s apparent he has issues with coaches who disagree with his way of playing.
Jerry Sloan has been known to have arguments with many star players in the past, names like John Stockton and Karl Malone come to mind first.
But Williams still was unable to mend the relationship with the veteran Sloan, but Carmelo has had a solid relationship with George Karl, who has an impressive coaching resume of his own.
After Anthony was traded to the Knicks, Karl said he was sad to see Melo go. The two obviously got along and had no hard feelings toward each other.
Anthony can be coached, and his desire to get better allows him to realize he can learn a lot from different coaches, and his new coach in New York Mike D’Antoni is no different.
Williams’ stubbornness is good at times, but he does not limit that stubbornness like Rajon Rondo does with Celtics coach Doc Rivers.
Advantage Anthony.
Playoff Pedigree
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Neither Carmelo Anthony nor Deron Williams has been to an NBA Finals, but both have been to a Western conference finals.
Williams has run into the Lakers several times in his career, and has played well in each series vs. Los Angeles. The problem was his teammates were never equal to Kobe Bryant’s Lakers teammates.
Anthony has played in six postseasons, Williams has participated in three.
Melo has a career playoff scoring average of 23.6, and averaged 26.8 and 27.2 points per game in the 2007 and 2009 playoffs, respectively.
Williams is a career 20.2 points per game playoff scorer, with a 9.4 assists per game playoff average too.
Even though Melo has been to more playoffs than Williams, he was the primary player for Denver's title quests and always came up short.
While Williams was the star for Utah, he was the point guard, and it is unusual that a point guard is the best player on an NBA champion. Williams did his job, but his teammates failed.
Slight playoff edge to Williams.
Contract & Salary Cap Impact
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A player’s contract situation does not help determine who is a better player, but in terms of debating which player to build a team around, money is a huge factor.
Williams can be a free agent after next season, and currently is a much cheaper player than Anthony.
Melo will likely sign a three year, $65 million contract extension with New York, the same deal he turned down in Denver.
If Melo waits until the summer to sign a new deal, he will likely lose money because one of the expected parts of the new CBA is player salaries will be a bit smaller to help smaller market teams afford star players.
Anthony wouldn’t be willing to wait until the summer to sign an extension because if he was, the Knicks might have thought twice about the number of young players they gave up acquiring him.
With Williams’ contract extension almost certainly coming after the new CBA is in place, his financial situation is much more desirable than Melo's.
Defense and The Decision
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According to my tally throughout the article, Williams and Anthony both won four comparisons.
While compiling the results I’ll have to admit I wasn’t surprised it came out that way, so I’ll break the tie with a defense comparison.
Carmelo Anthony is a fabulous scorer, and a global name that every basketball fan knows. His ability to create revenue and make a quality team on the court is rare in today's game.
But his contract is massive, and he doesn’t play defense. The reason I didn’t mention defense before is because this is the area where Melo's game crumbles.
He is a terrible defender, and there are many nights when the opposing team’s best player makes him look average on the defensive end of the floor.
Deron Williams is a decent defender, but his value as a rare point guard who can score and run an offense equally as impressive is too much to ignore.
The most important positions on the court are the point guard and center, and now New Jersey has quality players at both spots.
Carmelo is a great player, but I can find players who are not as good offensively but who play better defense which will help my team more.
Deron Williams is the better player to build a team around than Carmelo Anthony.
Agree or Disagree?
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Since the tally was even, I’m sure there will be much debate. Both Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams are great players and there is little separating them.
Both are franchise players and will have to deal with the added pressure and responsibility under the bright lights of New York City.
Who is the better player to build a franchise around? Share your opinion in the comment box.
Follow Nick Goss on Twitter @nwgoss
