New Jersey Nets: Is Deron Williams the Long-Term Solution?

The New Jersey Nets have been sort of an enigma since the turn of the century.

The team made back-to-back Finals appearances from '02-'03 but lost both. Nevertheless they were an elite team lead by one of the best point guards of all time, Jason Kidd.

Since then, the Nets have traded Kidd to the Mavericks in '08, challenged the 1973 76ers for the worst record in the league (Nets went 12-70 in 2010, the 76ers went 9-73), were purchased by Russian businessman and billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov and will finally end their game of musical stadiums and settle into the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in time for the 2012-2013 season.

Now the Nets find themselves at yet another crossroads, one which will determine if they are a contender in the east for years to come. This time, the center of attention is recently acquired point guard Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz.

Williams' trade to the Nets was far from a pleasant departure. The trade was rumored to be punishment for William's supposed feud with head coach Jerry Sloan which allegedly led to Sloan's retirement.

Should the rumors have any truth to them, there's not much of a chance Williams is happy to be a Net, but he is now and is at least until the end of next season, if there is one. 

Is Williams a long-term solution to the Nets growth? From a performance perspective, absolutely. Williams is a proven point guard who averages for his career over nine assists, 17 points and shoots 46 percent from the field.

He helped lead the Jazz to four straight playoff appearences in which he again averages over nine assists and over 20 points.

It is a mystery why this man has only been selected to two NBA All-Star games. He is as consistent as they come and as long as he keeps up his consistency he will be mentioned in the same sentence as Derrick Rose and Chris Paul.

Along with Brook Lopez, one of the league's top centers, Williams provides a solid foundation with which to build upon. With a new arena set to open in 2012, the Nets are an attractive destination for free agents as long as Deron Williams agrees to stay a Net.

The Nets would also need to re-sign Kris Humphries, a legitimate power forward whose averages rose once Williams joined the team.

With the addition of Marshon Brooks, the 6'5" guard out of Providence who averaged nearly 25 points in his last collegiate season, Williams has a partner in the backcourt and is surrounded by a young, solid group of starters, minus the small forward position.

If the Nets are serious about keeping Williams, the organization must make sure the players already on the starting roster are fit and ready for the season and Coach Avery needs to make sure his players can perform well enough to make Williams want to stay.

Once 2012 comes around, Williams will certainly be looking forward to free agency and the chance to team up with 2012's most anticipated free agent, Dwight Howard.

It is possible that the two could team up in Brooklyn, however the Nets must commit themselves to a productive 2011-2012 season first.

The young talent already present on the Nets, along with the new arena in New York and the high possibility of Dwight Howard making Brooklyn a top destination, makes Williams the logical long-term solution at point guard.