Deron Williams, aka "D-Will" is a 3-time all-star & 2-time U.S. gold medalist. For about the last 5 years he has been considered one of the best point guards in the league. When he was in Utah he was regarded as arguably the best PG in the game.
Deron attended the University of Illionois, where in 2005 Williams led his Fighting Illini to the National Championship Game where they eventually lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels.
He then went on and declared for the 2005 NBA draft where he was selected 3rd overall by the Utah Jazz. He had a decent rookie season. His second season is when he became noticed averaging over 16 PPG & 9.3 APG. He was starting to get the NBA's attention. Deron led Utah all the way to the Western Conference Finals where they lost to the eventual champion, San Antonio Spurs.
In his third season, Deron led Utah to a 54-28 regular season record. They would eventually get bounced in game 6 of the second round against the Los Angeles Lakers. After that season, he became known as one of the leagues elite point guards. Some even considered him the best. The next season he averaged 19.2 PPG & 10 APG. Also, was again snubbed at the All-Star Break.
In the 2009-10 season, Deron appeared in his first career All-Star game. The very next season followed with his second All-Star appearance. A year in which Deron received alot of criticism. Reports said Deron and long-time Jazz coach Jerry Sloan had arguments and rumors had it that Deron wanted him out. Eventually, Sloan decided to resign as Jazz head coach and most of the blame came on Deron.
On February 23rd, 2011, Williams was traded to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for, Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, 2 first-round picks, & $3 million in cash. In the 12 games Deron played with the Nets that season he averaged almost 13 APG. He also had a total of 47 assists in his first 3 games with New Jersey.
In that summer during the lockout, Deron went overseas to Turkey to play with a Turkish team called Besiktas. When the lockout ended, Deron went on to average 21 PPG & 8 APG that season. He was the only player to accomplish that in the 2011-12 season.
Deron was an unrestricted free-agent in the Summer of 2012. He had only two teams on his list, Brooklyn, & Dallas. It seemed like Dallas was going to be his choice until Brooklyn acquired Joe Johnson. That sealed the deal. Williams re-signed with the Nets on a 5 year, $98 million deal.
Deron had a sub-par year last season, but with the new additions, Deron should have no problem returning to his elite status.
No comments:
Post a Comment