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2011 NBA Trade Rumors: Deron Williams Won't Sign Extension With Nets ... Yet

-- See Posting and Toasting for Knicks discussion and NetsDaily for Nets discussion.

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8 Total Updates since February 22, 2011
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Deron Williams Is Ready For A Playoff Run This Season

The newest Nets was introduced to the media on Thursday and though Deron Williams was unable to guarantee that he will sign an extension when he is allowed to under league rules, he did put to bed any concerns about his attitude.

His first words to a group of waiting reporters should have said it all when he exclaimed "I'm excited to be a Net!"

Williams also seemed impressed with the long-term plan that GM Billy King and head coach Avery Johnson have for these New Jersey Nets, led by the All-Star point guard.

"It got me excited about the possibilities of competing for a championship in the next couple of years," Williams said.

Before anyone things the new face of the franchise is writing off this season, Williams used the "P" word when talking about this season.

"This year, trying to make a playoff push, seeing as close as we can get to doing that.  I'm just really excited about the opportunity."

When you are dealing with a 17-40 team, the playoffs aren't often spoken about in the present tense, but Williams talked about how he has never been on a losing team in his career. 

The most difficult thing facing the Nets -- other than the 40 losses -- is time as they only have 25 games left on the schedule and will need to make up 10 games in the loss column to snag the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

It will take a near-miracle for New Jersey to make a run a legitimate run for the playoffs, but it's a promising start for Nets fans to hear the only thing on Williams' mind right now is winning.

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Deron Williams: 'I Can't Really Give Any Assurances'

Deron Williams, acquired by the New Jersey Nets from the Utah Jazz Wednesday in a surprising blockbuster trade, said Thursday he won't commit to signing a new deal with the Nets once his contract runs out after the  2012 season.

"I can't really give any assurances, or say that I'll be here — I don't know what the future holds, I look forward to the possibility of it, it's definitely a strong possibility. It all depends on how the next year goes — CBA, the type of moves we make and the people we bring into this organization."

Williams is a 26-year-old star, and he will have options when it comes to where to play once his contract is up after next season. It would make no sense for him to commit long-term to the Nets, a team that won just 12 games a year ago and is currently one of the worst in the league with a 17-40 record, until he sees if the franchise can deliver on promises it has made him to seek top-tier talent to put around him.

"I told him what we have, $19 million in cap space this summer, we still have picks. … I said, ‘We’re going to build something special and you’re going to help lead us this way.’ And he’s excited about it," said Nets General Manager Billy King.

The Nets and Jazz kept this deal incredibly quiet, so quiet in fact that Williams had no idea he was on the market and found out from ESPN's SportsCenter that he had been traded. He denied initial reports that he was not happy about the trade, simply saying the trade was a "shock."

"At first it was a little bit of shock, but after talking to (GM) Billy King, talking to coach (Avery) Johnson, and just seeing the direction that they want to go in and the vision for their organization , it just really got me excited about the possibilities of competing for a championship in the next couple of years.

"They're very ambitious in going after a lot of guys, I'm going to help with that as well."

The deal gives the Nets a chance to be relevant again on the NBA landscape, something they have not been since the days of Jason Kidd and Keith Van Horn. They have the rest of this season and next to capitalize. Let's see if they can.

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Jazz GM: Keeping Williams 'Wasn't Worth The Risk'

So, just exactly why would the Utah Jazz trade a 26-year-old franchise point guard who was averaging 21.3 points and 9.7 assists per game? The reality is that the Jazz felt like they had no choice.

Williams had one year left on a three-year Jazz contract, and the team felt he was not going to stay in Utah following the 2012 season.

“The focus we really basically had was, ‘What was the percentage that Deron would stay or not stay and how close to 100 percent on the return was this deal?’ We felt it was really close and, therefore, it wasn’t worth the risk," said Jazz General Manager Kevin O’Connor.

O’Connor appeared on KFAN in Salt Lake City with Scott Garrard to discuss the trade, in which the Nets sent point guard Devin Harris and power forward Derrick Favors, the third overall pick in the 2010 draft, to Utah. Sports Radio Interviews has the full transcript.

“He’s [Favors] a big, raw, young player. … But what we look at is physicality, athleticism and size. Those three things he’s got and those three things are difficult to come by. … We got a young one and let’s see how he develops. … Those steps that he’s got to take and they’re going to be baby steps because he’s not ready yet," O’Connor said. "But what we did get was Devin Harris who’s a good point guard, an upper-tier point guard, who certainly helped Dallas win a lot of games and then got caught up in a rebuilding process.”

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Nets Make It Official, Ship Troy Murphy To Golden State

After stunning the NBA world by acquiring All-Star Deron Williams, the New Jersey Nets made a move that had been anticipated for weeks by trading Troy Murphy to the Golden State Warriors along with a 2012 second-round draft pick. 

In return for the little-used Murphy, the Nets received forward Brandan Wright and center Dan Gadzuric.

General Manager Billy King said in statement that both players bring different qualities to New Jersey.

"Dan is an NBA veteran who will add depth to our front-court rotation, while Brandan is a young player who we feel has significant room to grow and develop in our system."

All three players involved are in the final year of their contracts with Murphy due to be bought out by the Warriors while Gadzuric is nothing more than roster filler for New Jersey. Wright, on the other hand, should see much more time than he did so far this season for Golden State.

A lottery pick in 2007, Wright is still just 23 years old but has been held back by injuries throughout his young career. He has only appeared in 21 games this season, averaging four points and two rebounds in a little more than nine minutes per game.

With so little invested in the trade, the Nets will be huge winners here if they can catch lightning in a bottle with Wright.

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Deron Williams Traded To New Jersey For Devin Harris, Derrick Favors

The New Jersey Nets have acquired Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz in a stunning multi-player trade, according Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The deal apparently looks like this:

The Nets receive Williams, who is one of the game’s best point guards. Rookie forward Derrick Favors and point guard Devin Harris will go from New Jersey to Utah, along with a pair of first-round draft picks. In what is being reported by Yahoo! as a separate deal, the Nets will send virtually unused forward Troy Murphy to Golden State and will receive Dan Gadzuric from the Warriors.

"We are very excited to add a player the caliber of Deron Williams to our roster," said Nets General Manager Billy King. "He is one of the premier point guards in the NBA, and his skill and talent level will bolster our franchise as we continue to build towards our goal of becoming a championship-caliber team."

Williams is a two-time All-Star who had been unhappy recently with the Jazz. His falling-out with coach Jerry Sloan is believed to be part of the reason the coach resigned, and the Jazz apparently felt Williams would leave the team as a free agent in 2012.

The Nets struck quickly to acquire a star player after failing to convince Carmelo Anthony to sign an extension with them and watching him go to the New Jersey Nets. Williams, 26, is averaging 21.3 points and 9.7 assists this season and will give the Nets a player to build and market around when they move the franchise to Brooklyn in 2012.

It also tweaks the Knicks a bit because there has been widespread discussion that the Knicks wanted to try and add either either Williams or Chris Paul of New Orleans when they become free agents. Williams is not yet eligible to sign an extension, so Mikhail Prokhorov will need to wait before locking up his new point guard long-term.

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