Williams appeared to be more intrigued last night by a bid from the Nets, who are under the salary cap and could pay him more than the Knicks. The Nets could also make Williams their starting small forward.
Williams’ agent, Happy Walters, denied an ESPN 1050 report that Williams agreed to terms with the Nets, saying he was still “undecided’’ and the decision would be made today.
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Williams was weighing the Knicks’ offer of the $2.5 million exception for two years. However, an NBA source said his ego was bruised the past five days because of the Crawford chatter and felt like a “stepchild.’’ Williams also factored in the increased role he’d have in Newark, compared to the crowded Knick rotation.
The Nets now have Deron Williams, Shawne Williams, Shelden Williams, and Jordan Williams on their roster.
In 2011, his first full season since 2008, Extra E averaged 7.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in just over 20 minutes per game with a 12.2 PER. He shot a career-best 40.1% from beyond the arc, mostly threes from the corner. He fills holes at both forward spots, though he’s not exactly a major signing. The deal is reportedly two years, for $6.1 million.
This isn’t the first time Shawne Williams is a Net. In 2010, the Mavericks threw him in to the Kris Humphries-Eduardo Najera deal, only for the Nets to waive him 72 hours later. To which I say: welcome home, Shawne.
I’m a lucky fella. Not only do I get to write for Nets Are Scorching, but I also contribute to The Basketball Jones. Last week I was reading and hearing a lot of hate about the New Jersey Nets’ trade proposal to the Orlando Magic for Dwight Howard; a proposal with Brook Lopez at the heart of what the Magic would get back. Soon after the news broke out, the Los Angeles Lakers stepped into the fray with Andrew Bynum being the main piece going back to the Magic… and like that, it became a battle between Brook and Bynum.
Many, or rather most, took the side of Bynum and disregarded Bropez’s 20 point 2010-11 campaign. Some even put his durability to the side because Bynum’s upside was incredibly high! Oh. Kay. So, after a few more days and exponentially more Brook-bashing, I couldn’t take it anymore. I wrote up a Brook versus Bynum article to show a few things:
1) Brook isn’t as bad as people are saying
2) Bynum is kind of overrated, especially after being in the league for six seasons
3) In head-to-head play, Brook kills
Now, I could have published the article here, but I would simply be preaching to the choir. So, I published it on The Basketball Jones to show the general NBA-loving masses how good Brook is. Check it out, read it, comment, yadda, yadda, yadda. I’ll say this – once people make up their minds about a player, there’s no convincing a person to think differently.
“That’s not where we are,” Smith told the Orlando Sentinel. “What we’ve basically said is we don’t feel like we have to trade him today. We’re going to continue to look and explore opportunities. Actually, I don’t know if anything changed in my mind.
"We're still exploring all opportunities. Our first opportunity is to keep him in a Magic uniform."
With the framework of a deal in place, talks had reached the ownership level in Orlando, league sources said. Nevertheless, Magic ownership did not approve of the trade, and general manager Otis Smith then informed teams Howard had been removed from the market.
Howard has warned the Magic if they don’t move him by the March 15 trade deadline, they’ll lose him for nothing in free agency. Howard told the Magic again on Tuesday that he wanted a trade, a league source said.
“Dwight’s not a happy camper,” one league source told Y! Sports.
Every day this week, ESPN is hosting a Division-related Daily Dime Live chat, with bloggers from around the TrueHoop Network answering questions about the teams they cover. Today is Atlantic Division Day, and at 5 P.M. EST I’ll be fielding questions about all things New Jersey Nets-related. Wonder what you guys might want to talk about.
Here’s the link to the chat. Pop on in, ask other bloggers about other Atlantic Division teams, be merry, laugh at photoshops, and I’ll see you there at 5.
Orlando Magic are taking Dwight off the market. For now. So we’ll have to see. Orlando is really under no deadline to make any Dwight Howard trade before the start of the season, so this news does not shock me.
The Nets meanwhile can try and obtain other assets to try and sweeten the deal possibly.
This is an ongoing process and things are likely to change by the day. We will update as we see fit.
Just filed to ESPN with @chadfordinsider: Blazers emerge in trade scenario that would send Dwight Howard from Magic to Nets. Talks ongoing
As reported by ESPN’s Marc Stein and Chad Ford, the Nets, Trail-Blazers and Magic are in discussions for a three-team trade that would land Dwight Howard in New Jersey.
The deal would include Nets’ Brook Lopez and Blazers’ Gerald Wallace as the two principle pieces Orlando receives. Orlando would also be able to shed the long-term contracts of Hedo Turkoglu and Chris Duhon, which the Nets would absorb.
Portland could receive up to three draft picks in the deal, as reported by Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
I love political theater. There’s few things in the world I enjoy more than politicians stepping out of their boundaries to deliver lines at one another, whether pre-meditated or off the cuff. It’s like rap battles for stuffy, rich white dudes in suits, except in this medium, the punchlines don’t matter as much as their policy. (Just kidding. There can be an entire 90-minute debate on foreign policy, and all we’ll hear about is how Newt Gingrich called out Mitt Romney for not being a career politician! And we all go OOOO and news networks get their “politicians clash” stories and I die a little more inside.) I can’t help but be enraptured by the shenanigans of the guys that one day may run the country I live in.
One of my favorite moments came shortly before I was born (Yes, I’ve actually looked these up before), in the 1988 Vice Presidential debate between Democratic candidate Lloyd Bentsen and Republican candidate Dan Quayle. Quayle had taken to comparing himself to John F. Kennedy during the campaign run, and since he was sure to do it again, Bentsen came locked and loaded.
Quayle: Three times that I’ve had this question — and I will try to answer it again for you, as clearly as I can, because the question you’re asking is, “What kind of qualifications does Dan Quayle have to be president,” “What kind of qualifications do I have,” and “What would I do in this kind of a situation?” And what would I do in this situation? [...] I have far more experience than many others that sought the office of vice president of this country. I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency. I will be prepared to deal with the people in the Bush administration, if that unfortunate event would ever occur.
Judy Woodruff: Senator [Bentsen]?
Bentsen: Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.
His entire career, Carmelo has played the part of a superstar. He’s one of the most prolific and exciting offensive players in the NBA. He’s proven to be one of the best pure scorers in crunch time, and consistently ranks in the top 10 of both scoring and jersey sales. When assessing overall value, both on the floor and for the future, his lack of commitment to defense and middling efficiency raise more questions than answers.
Acquiring Carmelo Anthony was assuring nothing tangible. It was assuring “relevance” in the trade market and that the Nets had a “star” to enter Brooklyn with, but beyond that, what was there? The Nets potentially kill their cap space and ruin their roster to get a player who can score 30 nice-looking points per game and lead them to perpetual 45-48 win seasons.
More than anything else, that’s what frustrated me about the Carmelodrama: that the Nets were decimating their franchise for a guy that isn’t a franchise player. They were banking their entire future on a guy that 1) didn’t play defense, and 2) didn’t want to play with the Nets.
This isn’t that.
Dwight Howard is different because Dwight Howard is different. Howard is the guy who ranked as the #2 player in the NBA in the offseason’s NBARank. Dwight is the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, once-in-a-generation big man, and proven menace of the shot clock. Dwight is the guy you can build a championship contender around.
This is different because a trade for Dwight Howard ensures the future of Deron Williams in a Brooklyn Nets uniform, even after both opt out in 2012 to get max money. It ensures that the Nets have two superstars at important positions heading into the next chapter of their franchise. It ensures Brooklyn is rocking, and that the Nets are contending. It gives them, arguably, the best two-man combo in the NBA.
And unlike Carmelo Anthony, Dwight has given far more indications that he’d be happy in a Nets uniform.
I know Dwight Howard, and Carmelo Anthony is no Dwight Howard. This deal is not the Carmelo Anthony deal. When it comes to Dwight Howard, the benefits far outstrip any risk. Mark may disagree, but if the Nets pull this off, I don’t care if it happens tomorrow or next week or at the trade deadline on March 15th. I don’t care if I have to write “Nets nearing Howard before deal falls apart” 7,000 times. I don’t care if I’m balding by the end and can’t see out of my left eye because it’s been twitching for months. If the Nets get this done, there’s no looking back. Only ahead. With my twitchy left eye.
The Nets have had a crazy off-season thus far. Despite being rumored in signing (or trading) for a number of players, it wasn’t until the Nets signed former Hawk, King, Timberwolf, Celtic, Nugget and Knick, Shelden Williams, that the Nets were officially “in the game”.
Although the signing of Williams isn’t the splashiest off-season move — and hopefully more are coming — with an already thin front-court, the Nets were in desperate need of an abled-bodied big, and Shelden is certainly that.
Without further ado, let’s take a closer a look at some of the things we could expect from Williams this season. Read more…
…the latest developments in the Chris Paul saga point to New Jersey (i.e. Brooklyn) moving into prime position to land All-Star center Dwight Howard in a trade — if Orlando decides to go that route.
Or so the Nets hope.
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A person familiar with the Magic’s strategy told CBSSports.com Tuesday that the potential tampering charges are “on the back burner” while the team weighs its options with respect to Howard’s apparent desire to be traded. Knowing that the Nets may turn out to be the best trade partner, the Magic were reluctant to burn that bridge before the negotiations even got off the ground, sources said.
The best the Nets can offer is center Brook Lopez, less accomplished but more durable than the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum, plus multiple first-round picks and a signed-and-traded Kris Humphries. But the Nets have been exploring ways to bring in a third or even fourth team that could convey more assets to Orlando, and New Jersey GM Billy King has signaled to associates that such a maneuver won’t be a problem. King has proved to be one of the most adept executives in the league at assembling complicated, multi-team deals.
