NJ Nets made the RIGHT move

No matter what happens this summer, the New Jersey Nets made the right decision in trading for Deron Williams. Looking back at that day (Feb 24th, 2011), the trade went like this:

NJ Nets Get: Deron Williams

Utah Jazz Get: Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, 2011 1st round pick (Enes Kanter), 2012 GS Warriors 1st round pick (top 7 protected in '12,'13 and top 6 protected in '14)

Derrick Favors has gone on to average about 8 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 1 bpg shooting 55% with the Jazz since the trade. Devin Harris has gone to average 12.5 ppg 5 apg, .9 spg, shooting 33% with the Jazz since the trade. Enes Kanter looks like he could be promising (currently averaging 5 & 5 with a 17 PER as a rookie with just 14 mpg), and we'll wait and see what happens with their draft pick in this up coming draft. Meanwhile, Deron Williams has gone on to average 17 ppg, 10 apg, 4 rpg, shooting 35% for NJ since the trade. He's also sold FAR more jersey's than Favors/Harris/Kanter combined and brought life to NJ towards the end of last year and going into this year. His presence alone has allowed NJ to look to trade more assets to acquire another superstar (a front-runner in the Dwight Howard trade talks) keeping the Nets a move away from returning to the playoffs. On the surface, regardless of what he does this summer (stay or go) it looks like a win for the Nets. They took a risk, it paid off in the short-term and still could potentially pay off in the long-term.

I'll take it a step further. In today's NBA, you want to be 1 of 2 places. Either you want to be winning 50+ games or winning 15 games or fewer. In other words, you want to be a contender for the title or for the first pick. Hovering in the 40 win range does nothing. You won't sell tickets (barring a big draw opponent like the Lakers/Celtics), and you are not likely to acquire another superstar to move yourself to the next level. It's very tough to win with a "team" of really good players in todays NBA (although the Sixers are currently the exception to that rule, but to the same degree, who is taking them serious as a real threat to the Heat & Bulls to win the eastern conference this year). The best case scenario for the Nets is that Deron Williams allows them to lure Dwight Howard (and Otis Smith takes the ridiculous coup of draft picks and Brook Lopez the Nets are offering) and they go on to be one of the best PG/C combos in basketball. The worst case is that Deron Williams leaves for a team like the Lakers/Mavs/Knicks and leaves NJ with no discernible basketball players outside of Brook Lopez and with a clear path for the number one pick. As I previously stated, both are "wins" so to speak, for the Nets.

I'll say it again. Whether or not Deron Williams is a Net in the '12-'13 NBA season, the trade was absolutely successful. Hats off to Billy King (much maligned for his GM skills) for making the deal.