Deron Williams reiterates he had nothing to do with Avery Johnson’s firing – NBA Update
Before tonight’s win against the lowly Charlotte Bobcats, the Brooklyn Nets has lost five of their last six and ten of their last 13 games and the major reason for that was Deron Williams.
The star point guard was supposed to be the back bone of the revamped Brooklyn nets side, which boasts of players like Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, Brook Lopez and a host of experienced players on the bench. However, that never
happened. Bugged by a sore right wrist, Williams has so far been unable to even be the shadow of the player he used to be at Utah Jazz.
The three times All-Star has been struggling to make his shots. He has only made one third of his jumpers so far this season and is below 30 percent from the three point land. And then there was his recent outburst, in which he
blamed coach Johnson’s offensive system – one that concentrates on isolation offence – as the one of the major reasons for his struggles. That outburst is now being considered as the catalyst behind the unexpected sacking of Johnson, who had won the NBA Eastern
Conference Coach of the Month just 24 days back.
Williams was quick to deny the speculation on Thursday, the day when Johnson got the axe and on Friday, he again maintained that he was surprised by the management’s decision.
"I didn't expect it. I was over there riding the bike when Billy came in and told me. It caught me off guard," Williams said. "He was just coach of the month. We did struggle the last 13 games or so, but I felt like we had a great
team and a great coach."
"I never was consulted," Williams said. "Because if they would've asked me, I would've said he needs to be our coach, because he was a big reason why I stayed here.
When asked about his struggles on the court, the one guard admitted to his failings, and vowed to keep fighting the slump in form;
"Nobody feels worse about the way I've been playing than me. It just hasn't clicked yet. My confidence is gone right now, and I gotta play my way, fight my way out of it."
Tags: