Larry Brown Sports

For a while it looked like Deron Williams could sign with the Mavericks this past offseason, but he wound up back with the Nets. Earlier this week, Deron explained that Mark Cuban’s absence from his free agent meeting with Dallas helped him choose to re-sign with Brooklyn. When asked about Williams’ comments, Cuban couldn’t resist responding with a little mind game.

“I’m a big D-Will fan, but I’m kind of surprised that he would throw his front office under the bus like that by saying that I would make a difference,’’ Cuban said according to the Dallas Morning News. “I would have expected him to say – like I’d expect one of our guys to say – ‘Hey I’m so thrilled with the front office and the moves we made and our team that it wouldn’t have mattered what he did.’

“That’s what I expect our guys to say and that’s the way I feel about our team. Again, I’m a big D-Will fan, but it’s not about individual players, it’s about building a team. And I really think we put together a good team for the current team and the future.”

Cuban added that he is “flattered” his presence could have affected Deron’s decision, but he made his point loud and clear. While the Mavs owner is simply defending himself for filming a reality TV show instead of meeting with a superstar who is possibly interested in signing with the team, Cuban makes a good point. Williams should be saying he chose the Nets because that’s where he wanted to be, not because Cuban blew him off.

Deron Williams said on Monday that Mark Cuban missing their free agent meeting helped him choose the Nets over the Mavericks.

Williams was the top point guard on the market and considered the top free agent available over the summer. He was said to be considering signing with the Mavericks or remaining with the Nets. He ultimately chose to stay with the Nets, and he says now that Cuban missing their meeting and sending Mavericks representatives instead affected his choice.

“I think (Cuban) would have been able to answer a lot of the questions me and my agent have for him that really didn’t get answered that day pertaining to the future,” Williams said according to the New York Daily News. “And I think if he was there he would have been able to answer those questions a little bit better. It maybe would have helped me.

“(I wanted to hear about) the direction of the future of the team, other than Dirk — players they were thinking about. Everything was basically just about their track record, trust their track record, which is, you know, I can honor that, because they do have a good track record, but it’s not enough for me, especially when (Nets GM) Billy (King) was updating me daily.”

Williams also compared the situation to when he was coming out of high school and considering his college options. He says he dropped Maryland as one of his finalists because coach Gary Williams was not going to be there for his visit.

Cuban was filming the TV show “Shark Tank” in Los Angeles at the time and couldn’t make the meeting.

“Obviously, I had a conflict, but I was texting him. I was texting him. We were going back and forth quite a bit,” he said at the time.

Could Cuban have made a difference had he attended the meeting?

“Maybe,” he responded. “You know, because I always think I can close the sale.”

Cuban has indicated since then that he’s happy with the team despite failing to sign Williams and trade for Dwight Howard. The Nets have built up their roster around Williams. Maybe things worked out well for all parties.

The Nets experienced a major turnaround over the offseason. Not only did they change locations, jerseys, and color schemes, but they also overhauled their roster and appear ready to compete for a top playoff spot. All the changes are a relief for All-Star point guard Deron Williams, who was so frustrated with the team’s struggles last season he had to be called out by coach Avery Johnson for his behavior.

Johnson didn’t like the negative body language Williams displayed on the court during the Nets’ 22-44 showing last season which tied them for the fifth-worst record in the league. Williams believes he had good reason for acting the way he did.

“It was hard. I’ve never been in that position before,” Williams told reporters Tuesday, according to ESPN New York. “So at times, I’ve showed frustration, but I think anybody would have. I think no matter who it is, if you were there every day and you saw what was going on in the locker room you’d be pissed off too sometimes. You’re getting your asses kicked and then you’re in the locker room laughing about the game afterwards.

“I don’t think that stuff is funny. That’s what we had to deal with last year. But I don’t think we’re going to deal with it this year, because just talking to the guys, that’s not what we’re about. We’re talking about not losing two games in a row. We were just trying to fight to win two games in a row last year.”

Williams’ frustration with the team last year was evident as early as last December when he said the Nets didn’t have many starters on their team.

While Williams’ behavior was not advisable, it certainly was understandable. And the good news for everyone associated with the franchise is that Williams stuck with the team despite being a free agent. His loyalty to the Nets, if you want to call it that, should pay off this season. The Nets will likely be a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference.

Photo credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Before Twitter came along, US men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski could go through his yoga routine before practice began without being bothered. And if he was bothered, it wasn’t in the form of one of his players tweeting a picture of him doing yoga to more than 200,000 followers.

Deron Williams snapped a picture of Coach K in the child’s pose before practice on Monday and shared it on Twitter.  While Coach K probably would prefer that this part of his day be kept personal, there’s nothing wrong with a middle-aged man doing some yoga. In fact, an organization is even trying to make yoga poses an Olympic event, so perhaps Coach K is practicing and showcasing his skills.

Of the tens of thousands of athletes competing in London, it’s safe to say Team USA is having the most fun with Twitter and social media sites. Kevin Love has tweeted pictures like the one of all of his teammates sleeping during their flight and a few others showcasing how ridiculous everyone looked in their Opening Ceremony outfits. Over the weekend, Kevin Durant got in on the fun by showing us his awkward-looking haircut. And to think the Games are just getting started.

Wednesday marked the first day NBA free agents could officially sign contracts, and Deron Williams made his new deal with the Nets official. The All-Star point guard signed his contract electronically using an iPad (perhaps he was using Docusign?).

Williams is in Las Vegas practicing for the Olympics with Team USA, so the electronic signature made sense. Williams’ contract is 5 years for $98.75 million. If the Nets are able to finally land Dwight Howard, they could contend with the Heat for the Eastern Conference title. If they don’t they’ll probably be a 3 or 4 seed.

Photo credit: Deron Williams

The NBA has designed its collective bargaining agreement in a way that influences superstars to remain with their current teams, but as we have seen many times in the past it doesn’t always turn out that way. If you remember, some guy named LeBron took less money a couple years ago to take his talents to South Beach and won a championship recently because of it, so he is only regretting “The Decision” but not the decision. Deron Williams, however, chose to remain with the team that could pay him the most by staying in Brooklyn. But the money, he says, had nothing to do with it.

“Honestly, when I thought about my decision and talked to my agent, we never once talked about the extra money,” Williams told Sam Amick of SI.com. “I don’t think it’s as relevant as people think, because of the taxes and things like that. There’s no state tax in Texas, and you’ve got city tax in New York. So the money wasn’t that big of a difference in the four years to the five years. And I feel like barring any career-ending injury, that I’ll have a chance to make that up anyways. I’ll be 32. That wasn’t my concern. My concern was making a basketball decision as far as the players that I was going to be around.”

While most people will argue that all these guys think about is money, I tend to believe Deron. It’s not a coincidence that he was reportedly undecided until the Nets brought Joe Johnson aboard. We can also assume they reassured Williams that Dwight Howard is still a possibility, as Deron has been vocal about the fact that he wants to play with Dwight.

The Mavericks may have more talent at the moment, but they are not positioned to contend over the long haul. Jason Terry is about to sign with the Celtics and how long can Dirk Nowitzki last? Brooklyn was able to offer Deron a five-year deal with 7.5% raises whereas any other team could only offer four years and 4.5% raises, but between taxes and endorsements, superstars find plenty of ways to make up the difference. Almost all the signs point to Deron’s decision being mostly influenced by basketball.

Photo credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Jason Kidd stunningly announced on Thursday that decided to sign with the Knicks instead of remaining with the Mavs.

Kidd had said on Wednesday “I’ve always loved playing with Dallas and I’d love to finish my career there,” but apparently things didn’t work out.

Another side story to Kidd’s surprising choice to sign with the Knicks is that it proved one media report incorrect.

Ric Bucher reported last Saturday that Kidd would sign wherever Williams signed. Bucher’s report was disputed by Chris Broussard who said the two were not a “package deal.” Apparently Broussard did get that one correct.

Plans changed when the Nets decided to offer their mid-level exception to Bosnian forward Mirza Teletovic. That choice left Kidd deciding between the Knicks and the Mavs, and he chose New York.

And I guess Deron Williams really was messing with everyone when he sent a golfing tweet last week, though that did show Williams was comfortable in New York which is where he signed.