Brooklyn Nets mark arrival on the NBA stage with a bang; Future still unclear for the highly paid roster – NBA Feature Part 2
Last season, Deron Williams was by far the best player on the Nets roster, averaging 21 points and 8.7 assists per game. Williams is a member of the elite point guard club, which includes names like Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo and
Chris Paul.
The Brooklyn Nets wanted to retain Williams as they looked at him as the future franchise player for the Nets, who would take them to the playoffs as well as introduce them to the world. But the Dallas Mavericks, who had kept sufficient
cap space in hand throughout the 2011-2012 season, wanted to land Williams to team him with Dirk Nowitzki and contend for the NBA title.
Williams had said throughout the regular season that he wanted to leave the Nets after the end of the season, and Dallas was his number one destination considering the fact that it is his hometown, and gives him a chance to contend
for an NBA Title.
However, when it came down to making the decision, Williams signed back with the Nets for a five year deal worth around $100 million. Williams was convinced that the Nets were doing more than the Mavericks in assembling a roster
that could contend for the NBA title in the future, and the chance of playing in New York was too much to resist.
The Brooklyn Nets had already acquired Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks in a trade before Deron Williams was signed, and the arrival of Johnson actually helped seal the deal with Williams as it showed the seriousness of the Nets
front office to assemble a contender. Having already racked in Williams and Johnson, the Nets then signed a contract with Gerald Wallace, the forward they had acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers during the regular season.
With Williams earning around $100 million and Wallace $60 million for four years besides taking on Johnson’s contract which was scheduled to pay him close to $90 million over the next four years, the Nets then engaged in negotiations
with the Orlando Magic for a possible trade involving Dwight Howard.
Ever since Howard had made his desire to be traded open to the public, everyone knew that the Brooklyn Nets was his number one destination as he loved the idea of pairing up with Williams. However, despite numerous attempts by
the Nets in which they gave the Magic multiple options, the deal never materialized and the Nets, afraid that other teams might pick up their restricted free agent centre Brook Lopez, decided to re-sign Lopez for a four year deal worth $61 million. The signing
ended their hunt for Howard, and they re-signed power forward Kris Humphries to complete the front court.
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