2011 NBA Draft: Why Trading Deron Williams Worked Out for the Utah Jazz

Deron Williams and Jerry Sloan were fighting so much last year that it led to one of them being dealt to play in "The Swamp" and the other to Del Boca Vista.

While it took the Denver Nuggets months to trade their disgruntled star in Carmelo Anthony, it took the Utah Jazz about three hours.

The Jazz shocked most of us (did anyone outside of Utah realize that Sloan and Deron Williams were that much at odds?) and traded Deron Williams, their superstar point guard, for Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, the New Jersey Nets' first-round pick in the 2011 NBA draft and possibly the Golden State Warriors pick next year, which is only top-seven protected.

Seemed OK at the time, but after watching the Nuggets take off and the Jazz falter, you had to wonder if they did indeed get enough of a deal for trading a top five NBA point guard.

Especially with the draft pick in what was considered a weak draft and in a year when teams were trading away lottery picks like they were diseased. The Nets ended up with the sixth-worst record and gave the Jazz a 9.39 percent chance to move up from that spot.

Nothing to get really excited about...until now.

The Jazz beat the odds and ended up with the third pick in this year's draft and now all of a sudden can add the best center in the draft in Enes Kanter from Kentucky.

Kemba Walker from UConn and Brandon Knight would be the other possibilities. Basically everyone besides Derrick Williams and Kyrie Irving.

Now, all of a sudden, the Jazz have a bright future with Favors who is only 19 years old, and Paul Millsap at the forward slots with Gordon Hayward and Devin Harris in the backcourt to pair their new No. 3 pick, their number 12 pick and Al Jefferson.

Jefferson turns into a lucrative trading, chip providing the Jazz would like to move him with a selection of Enes Kanter.

Or they can play Jefferson at center and draft a point guard of the future in Walker or Knight.

One thing to look for is the possibility of the Jazz drafting Kanter, then shipping Al Jefferson along with Mehmet Okur who will be appealing to teams as an expiring contract for a star in return.

That, or draft Walker, let Okur walk and only be committed to around $40 million and have an expiring deal to be used as trade bait in Al Jefferson for the 2012-2013 season.

The Jazz suddenly find themselves with a plethora of options and the right management to get the most value out of it.

In what was looking like a mistake by trading away a top-flight point guard, the Jazz are looking like the winners of that deal now.

The Nets, coming off of a 24-win season, have to improve through free agency and have the cap space to do so.

The problem will be getting people to come to New Jersey, and with this year’s free agent class, are there any guys who will get them over the hump to compete with the elite teams of the East?

I don’t see any other scenario for the Nets other than waiting for the 2012 free agent class and hope they have a Miami Heat type summer.

That’s if Deron Williams doesn’t get so fed up with the team this year and refuses to come back to the Nets, as he can opt out of his current deal after this year.

Four months after this Nets-Jazz swap, I think we are all singing a different tune about this trade (I couldn’t resist).