bobbyc wrote:Deron Williams deserves 100% of the blame.
I wouldn't say 100% because Deron had nothing to do with King willingly going overboard to get Wallace or Johnson but the thought process behind the moves were motivated by Deron the fact MP was absorbing massive debts with the franchise that he desperately needed to make back by putting together a good product here in New York.
We leveraged our future to retain him by trading for Johnson. We give him MAX money. The guy has played like a max money guy for only .5 of a season since coming here. The only reason he had that .5 season was because Fat man went on a diet and lost some weight so he was not so slow and he addressed a health issue.
Well, Yeah. I've said before, Deron's attitude and basically putting one foot out the door after the whole Dwight situation basically made King put together a desperate deal. Like it or not, It was a desperate deal and people need to accept the fact it was done because Deron gave nearly every impression he was not going to stay here playing with scrubs. Which is what led to the Wallace/Johnson trades and reguardless of how disgustingly bad King got bent over, It shouldn't have happened but the reality is it was done to coddle Williams and build a new reputation among stars.
The fact that we are 26th in the league in defensive efficiency is in large part due to our leader/ max money player being a poor defender. He is probably one of the slowest guards in the league right now and guards have no trouble getting by him on the perimeter. In the PnR it looks like he gets caught in a bear trap on these picks, he can't get around the pick quick enough.
Well, no. I can't say that at all because Deron has barely played and the first two weeks of the season, the team was 13th in defense. They fell off a cliff when Brook went down.
In all honestly all of our guards look like that including Livingston right now.
The guy clearly has an ankle problem that he should have addressed. Steph Curry had ankle issues and had them addressed. But yet he didn't. And now here we are with his ass on the bench.
And I see all these health issues coming from that lockout year where he decided to play that meaningless season with the Turks instead of taking time off after the olympics to recover like every other player on that F*in team.
This guy is a bum right now.
I know it's out of frustration but you cannot honestly blame Deron at all for his ankle issues. Surgery would have helped last season, dieting would have helped last season but the difference today between Deron and Stephen Curry is luck. That's really it.
I can't really blame Deron when he gets his foot stepped on twice by an opposing player. There is no health or form of rehab that will prevent that. Especially when he's trying to get back and play. He lobbied to play through it during preseason, he wanted his minutes restriction off since opening night, so he's tried. He's been dealt with a crappy card this year.
Fortunately if this is a crap season, this will make his career look like a joke! Those years in Utah are going to look like luck. The year he went to the finals, GS the 8th seed beat Dallas which led to Utah matching up with an 8th seed in the 2nd round (fortunate). Other than that year he did not have much success in the other 3 playoff appearances.
He is the leader of a talented team and he can't lead them to win 50% of the games. He is just not a winner. Not a leader. Can't play through injuries. Can't stay healthy. Can't stay in the shape that he needs to be in to play at a high level. His body language is poor at all times except if he is hitting 3's.
He is just not someone you can build a team around, but yet we did. Shame on us!
I needed to vent about my disappointment with Deron and this team. AND 1 it if you feel the same.
While I agree we won't win with him and it's a make or break year for him, I don't think it makes much sense to criticize him for playing through injuries or staying healthy. If he pulled a Rose and chooses to sit/play then I would feel that way but the reality is, he did legit hurt his ankles a year ago and his play showed it. He got a ton of heat for it and If he were to play through these ankle sprains now, he would get a ton of criticism for not playing at a high level. So, either way it wouldn't make a difference.
I'm just more disappointed in the team than anyone else. We all knew deep down we ran the risk of him having a few injuries here or there but that's still no excuse for this team not to still be solid. With or without him.
But in terms of Deron himself? It is what it is with him. He's simply not going to be an 82 game player anymore, he's gotten lazy to the point that he takes nothing but threes, his motor in terms of intelligibles is not there like it used to be and quite honestly, he's lost everything he got known for doing.
In all honestly, I think he got so used to playing losing basketball and basically being coddled during the first two years in NJ and maybe the last year in Utah to the point where now he's gotten all that he's wanted and more. He's playing for a big market. He's Top 10 jersey seller for the first time and now when the spotlight is on him to play like a superstar, he comes up small or plays inconsistent on one end or another.
All I want is for him to put together some good seasons and hopefully escape his deal by hopefully moving him in 2 years.
