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Trying to rebound from the disappointment of their failed pursuit of Carmelo Anthony, the New Jersey Nets have acquired Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz in another blockbuster trade for the New York area.
The Nets will send Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, two first-round draft picks and cash considerations to Utah for the All-Star point guard.
In a separate deal, the Nets will send the expiring contract of forward Troy Murphy and a second-round pick in 2012 to the Golden State Warriors for center Dan Gadzuric and power forward Brandan Wright.
Gadzuric's deal expires at the end of this season, clearing cap space for the Nets.The Nets announced a news conference for Thursday at 3 p.m. ET at the PNY Center in East Rutherford, N.J., to introduce Williams.
Nets coach Avery Johnson said at practice Wednesday that he is "excited" about the trade for Williams.
"Rarely are you able to trade for somebody that's one of the top players at their position," he said. "We know we had to give up a lot to get him, but we felt it was worth it."
Johnson was asked if this was the Plan B all along if the Nets couldn't acquire Anthony.
"This is not a Plan B," Johnson said. "It was just one that wasn't announced. One that nobody got -- until recently. He's not a Plan B. He's a Plan A also. We've been working on this for a while."
The Jazz will get New Jersey's first-round pick this year, which is not lottery protected, and Golden State's first-round pick, which is partially protected, next year. That selection is top-seven protected in 2012 and 2013 and top-six protected in 2014. If Utah has not received the pick by the 2014 draft, then the Jazz will receive Golden State's own 2014 and 2016 second-round picks.
Sources told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard that the Jazz also receive $3 million.
Nets general manager Billy King said the deal came together quickly.
"I had talked to [Jazz general manager] Kevin O'Connor yesterday," he said. "He asked me would I do something. And I said no, then I called him back and asked, 'I wonder if you'll do this.' And he said, 'Let me look at it. We talked a couple times yesterday. And then I guess he visited with his ownership. I visited with mine. And this morning we came to an agreement."
King said Williams is a building block for the Nets.
"I feel Deron Williams is the best point guard in the NBA. And when you want to try to win you need a point guard and a center, and I think we have two of the best," King said.
The Nets have Brook Lopez in the middle. He's averaging a career-high 19.4 points per game in his third season. But his rebounding has slipped from 8.6 per game last season to 5.8 this .On Tuesday, King called Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor -the two are close from their time together with the Philadelphia 76ers -and inquired about Williams. They reached an agreement Wednesday morning. Today is the NBA trade deadline.
King said principal owner Mikhail Prokhorov is "ecstatic" about the deal. To attain his mission of winning a championship in five years, the Nets have more work to do, starting with getting Williams to commit long term and be their centrepiece when they open the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2012.
"I don't look at it as a gamble," King said. "I look at it as we've acquired a player who's going to be a cornerstone of our franchise for a long time.
"I spoke to Deron. He's excited. He's looking forward to it. He understands where we are and where we're trying to go, and he's ready to help us build as we head from Newark to Brooklyn."
King said Williams can't sign a contract extension until July 18, but it would be pushed back if there's a work stoppage. The Nets will try to ink Williams whenever they can.
"I went to bed at 8:30 and I got up at 7:30,'' Sloan said of being in bed that night when the game tipped off shortly after 8:30 p.m. MST.
Sloan hasn't seen any basketball games in person since his resignation and said he hasn't watched any on television. When pressed, though, he said he might have seen a minute or two.
"Maybe that,'' he said. "My wife is the one who flips the channels around so she might have flipped one (to basketball for a few minutes).''
Sloan, who played in the NBA from 1965-76 before later serving 26 overall seasons as an NBA head coach, continued to insist he hasn't missed basketball at all.
"It's a different lifestyle,'' said Sloan, who said he plans to keep his primary residence in Salt Lake City but will continue to make trips to his farm. "But I'm enjoying it.''What they don’t need are any more contracts like the one they gave Travis Outlaw last summer that averages $7 million a season. That deal really made me question the Nets’ decision-making, but this trade for Williams more than made up for it. Other than Outlaw, the Nets don’t have any contracts that extend past the 2012-13 season, so there’s an opportunity to quickly remake this roster and turn it into a winner.
After missing out on LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony in the last eight months, it sure looked like the Nets would always be the bridesmaid and never the bride, but today they are the bride, and in a big way.
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