As the Brooklyn Nets prepare to take on Utah Jazz, the three times All-Star opens up about his time with the Salt lake city franchise and the issues he is facing at Long Islands.
There was a time when Deron Williams was ranked amongst the best point guards in the league. His slick ball movement and the ability to befuddle even the best of defenders used to be exemplary. That however was when he used to play under the great Jerry Sloan, whose team prided itself in passing the ball. Under Sloan, it was all pick and roll for D-Will, with occasional jumpers. But ever since his arrival at Brooklyn, D-Will has been forced to play isolation offence, and the point guard has struggled.
The change of system however has not been the only thing which has held D-Will back. Injuries have also stopped him to play at a level which he used to at Jazz. As the Nets prepare to take on Jazz on Tuesday, Williams opened up about the issues he has faced, and is still facing at Brooklyn.
"I was injured the first year (and needed season-ending right wrist surgery)," Williams said Monday, a day before the Nets host the Jazz at Barclays Center. "I've really had injuries while I've been with (the Nets) the whole time. And didn't have the talent around me that I did (with the Jazz).
"And that system (in Utah) was a great system for my style of play. I'm a system player, and I loved Coach (Jerry) Sloan's system. I loved the offense there. We could've been a really good team. We just weren't that good defensively as a group."
Williams was shipped to the Nets in February 2011, in a deal which saw power forward Derrick Favors, point guard Devin Harris and future draft picks go the other way. He was supposed to make an instant impact, but failed to spark his new franchise which ended the season with a 22-44 record. A lot of quality players were added to the roster this time, but even with help available, D-Will has struggled to deliver due to nagging injury issues. In the 90 games he has played with the Nets, Williams has managed 19.2 points and 9.2 assists. The problem however is that he is shooting just 39.6 percent from the floor, including 32 percent from 3-point land. This season has been even worse with stats of 38.8 percent from the field and 29.9 percent from 3-point range.
These are signs enough that Williams has not settled in the new setup and Avery Johnson needs to be worried.
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