New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov couldn’t land Carmelo Anthony. Instead, he watched him land with the New York Knicks and plotted a response.
Then he trumped the Knicks … maybe.
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When the Nets acquired Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, they landed an equal amount of risk and reward. Their ceiling, if we’re comparing them to the Knicks, might ultimately be higher. Their basement might be lower as well.
If nothing else, it’s nice to have a soon-to-be crosstown antagonist for the Knicks.
Williams is arguably a better player than Anthony and maybe the best point guard in the game.
But … Anthony just signed a three-year extension with the Knicks. Williams can’t sign an extension until July. In other words, there’s no guarantee he’ll be on the Nets come 2013. And by that time perhaps Derrick Favors, traded to Utah, is a stud. The word in the NBA is that Williams did not want to play in the East.
“To stay there, they will have to win and win big,” one executive said.
If Williams re-signs, the Nets are in a better position than the Knicks to add future talent — Dwight Howard, perhaps?
But there’s no doubt this latest move will harden the resolve of smaller-market owners who are tired of seeing stars leave. Williams didn’t orchestrate this move, but the Jazz, seeing what happened with Anthony, Chris Bosh and LeBron James, figured why delay the inevitable?
As with the Anthony trade, this move shakes up the NBA and the reverberations could be felt for a long time.
