Deron Williams vs. Carmelo Anthony: Who Is the Bigger Impact Player?

Deron Williams or Carmelo Anthony?

A quick point guard that can both score and defend, or a slashing small forward that is one of the top offensive weapons in the game today?

Who would you rather have if you were going to start an NBA franchise?

The facts are that both of these players were dealt in the past two days, Anthony to the New York Knicks and Williams to the New Jersey Nets.

While some might think that this is a slam dunk argument and that Carmelo is obviously the bigger impact player because of his ability to score so much, I am taking a different approach.

Take a look at the six best teams across the NBA right now: San Antonio, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, Miami and Chicago. Of those six teams, four of them have elite point guards and one could argue that Derek Fisher should be included in that mix as well, based on how many championship rings he can flash on his right hand.

The point here is that in order to be successful in the NBA, you need to have a good point guard leading the way. Miami is an exception because they have the best big-three that basketball has ever seen. But then again, who knows what the Heat will do come playoff time?

If you take a look at their stat lines, Anthony does average 25.2 point per game this season, compared to Williams' 21.3 clip. But Williams averaged over nine assists per game, which is a much bigger number than Carmelo produces in assists or rebounds. But they key here is to take a look at turnovers. Anthony turns the ball over more than Williams does, and being the point guard, Williams is the guy who has the ball in his hands on almost every possession.

Derron Williams and Carmelo Anthony can both score, we know that. But Williams is a floor leader, which is such a valuable commodity to have. In addition to that, Williams is also a much better defender than Anthony is, which becomes a huge asset come playoff time.

With the addition of Anthony, the Knicks are now a legitimate playoff contender, but they still don't have what it takes to go deep in the Eastern Conference playoffs. With the addition of Williams, the Nets still don't have much of a chance to make the playoffs this year.

But in the future, when asking which player will make a bigger impact down the road, I would have to go with Williams.

Let us remember that there is more to being successful in the NBA than just scoring.

Deron Williams brings a very unique dimension to the Nets, something that they have not had since Jason Kidd left town. Now, let's just hope that he and Avery Johnson have a healthy relationship and he doesn't drive Johnson out of town.