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Deron to Dallas? Don’t Be Stupid
Posted by: Brian McCann on September 3rd, 2010
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.As many of you know this article, posted by Dime went viral this week, and it has caused a bit of an uproar in the online Jazz community. The impact of that article was compounded when Mark Stein made these comments in an article for ESPN. Both articles allude to Deron Williams possibly being the next major star to go all Carmelo Anthony on the team that drafted him and demand a trade. And while both have received some major online publicity (for obvious reasons), there is absolutely no reason why Jazz fans should pay any attention to either one of them. First of all, the Dime post speaks with so much generality, that it amazes me that a site with a reputation like Dime would even allow it to be posted. The title “Why Deron Williams will Leave Utah for Dallas” speaks of authority, but, after taking the time to read the body of the post, authority is exactly what this article is lacking. The following is a breakdown of the authors’ arguments one at a time:
Argument 1: “After losing teammates Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer, Wes Matthews and Kyle Korver, is there any reason not to believe that Deron would want out?…I think losing four of the best players on his team would cause his heart to be out of it a little bit. Deron’s already stated that he’s frustrated with the way things are going in Utah, and this appears to only exacerbate his case.”
Counterargument: Obviously the point of this article is that this guy thinks Deron Williams will leave Utah, but this particular argument is fairly weak. He fails to address the reasons why losing all four of these players has arguably made the franchise stronger. Starting with Boozer, the Jazz essentially traded him for a bigger, stronger, more dominant, younger, true-post player in Al Jefferson. That’s not to say Al will immediately step in and contribute the way Carlos did, but after six seasons of failing to lead the Jazz consistently in the playoffs, phantom injuries, and a disingenuous commitment level that often times left most fans feeling empty, Utah made the right move in parting ways with the former all-star. Throw in the fact that he will be 29 this year to Jefferson’s 25, and it really was more of a no-brainer than most in the national media are making it out to be. In the case of Kyle Korver, he is a fan favorite, and he can shoot the lights out of the three-ball, but besides that, he is extremely one-dimensional. Gordon Hayward might not come close to KK’s three-point accuracy, but he is taller, more athletic, and definitely, DEFINITELY a better defender than Korver (we won’t have to watch KK swing down in the post any more to a double team only to get lit-up on the wing by the guy he is supposed to be guarding). Plus Hayward is no slouch when it comes to pulling the trigger. I expect him to have a fairly decent shooting percentage even in his rookie year. Wes Matthews is the most difficult for me because I genuinely like the kid, but he’s not a deal-killer for Deron. Sure DWill was probably a little upset when he heard about the intention of the Jazz not to match the offer Portland made Wes, but I think they did more than just save face by successfully signing Raja Bell. The key here for me is who will give you the most production in the upcoming season? Personally, I think Bell at 34 will put up similar numbers to what Mathews would have done had he stayed. What Bell will give you that Mathews would not is a veteran leadership presence in the locker room and on the court ala DFish. In two or three years, we might wish we still had Wes, but Raja makes us better now, and Deron wants to win now. As far as Ronnie Brewer is concerned, Deron was upset with the Jazz Trading RB, but everyone close to DWill has seemed to indicate that Deron has come to terms with why it needed to be done. In short, the Jazz have made moves that have the potential to make them a better team now. They chose not to resign the players mentioned; they didn’t just walk to get out of Utah. All four of them would have stayed had there been cash on the table, but there wasn’t. The Jazz made gutsy moves to improve the overall quality of the team for the benefit of Deron Williams. He is not here to make friends, he is here to win, and that is really what it comes down to.
Argument 2: “In July of 2008, Williams signed a three-year extension (with a fourth-year option) for $70 million to stay with the Jazz and help bring them a title. Well, it’s been two years and there’s still no title. All the Jazz have to show for it is first round playoff exits and going over the luxury tax to bring back the same team back from ‘09, with half of them leaving during free agency this summer. It’s not that Williams couldn’t take the Jazz to a championship; it’s just his supporting cast seems to fall apart at all the wrong times.”
Counterargument: This guy just shot his own credibility. The same team from ’09?!?! Seriously? Please see my first counterargument for all of the reasons why this argument is completely fruitless. Nobody left this team without first allowing the Jazz the chance to resign them. The Jazz went in a different direction because they thought this new squad had a better chance of getting us over the hump. We are a completely different team this year. And first round EXITS?? As in plural? How about one first round exit to the Lakers in ’09, two second round exits in ’08 and ’10, and one WCF exit in ’07, ALL TO THE EVENTUAL WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMP. Nine out of ten teams in this league would be thrilled with that track record.
Argument 3: “If D-Will chooses to opt-out of his contract in 2012, where would he end up? How about following his roots in Dallas to play with the Mavericks. Deron starred at The Colony High School near Dallas, and last year at the NBA All-Star Game in Dallas, that was the happiest Williams has looked in two years.”
Counterargument: Could making his first all-star game after being snubbed three years in a row have anything to do with his giddiness? Uhhhhhh…yeah, probably.
Argument 4: “Another thing to consider is that the Mavericks will have substantial cap room in 2012, right when Deron can choose to become a free agent.”
Counterargument: So will the Jazz, only they can offer him more. Money talks.
Argument 5: “If Deron ends up in Dallas, he would have a much better supporting cast than with the Jazz.”
Counterargument: Hahahahahahahahahahaha (none needed. Even casual fans of the NBA should be able to discredit this argument, unless of course your looking for a group of guys that will be flirting with their late 30’s).
Argument 6: “The Mavericks have one of the best shooting big men in the history of the NBA in Dirk Nowitzki. Don’t get it twisted though – he’s not a choke artist like fans believe. This is a guy who is 7-0 and has averaged 23.0 points and 8.5 rebounds for his career, all on jump shots”.
Counterargument: Dirk will be 34 in 2012-not exactly spry by NBA standards. As far as him being a choke artist? Please see 2006 NBA Finals and 2007 NBA playoffs (first round against GS anyone?).
Argument 7: “Then you consider after the Mavs signed Deron they’d have at least $9 million to spend on another free agent in 2012 – Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Antawn Jamison will all be available.”
Counterargument: Is the NBA going all-PGA and setting up a Senior league? Hmmm…
Argument 8: “The best part of all is that Deron has the chance to play for arguably the best owner in basketball, Mark Cuban. Cuban is the kind of guy that will gladly go into luxury tax in pursuit of a title, which he’s done numerous times.”
Counterargument: This argument should read “The best part of all is that Deron has the chance to play for the arguably the best owner in basketball, Mark Cuban. Cuban is the kind of guy that will gladly go into luxury tax to sign you to a major contract, then trade you away unsuspectingly the next year when another prospect he deems better for his system comes along. Dude pulls the trigger faster and more illogically than any owner in the history of the NBA. One day you’re here, the next day your not. His loyalty to you as a player falls in line with his patience right at about the non-existent level, ironically all in the pursuit of a title, which he has never won”.
This post was obviously written by someone that is pro-Dallas, and it amazes me that it has laid down any traction at all on the web. Guess that’s the type of garbage you get at the end of August when not much else is happening. As far as the Mark Stein statement goes, it deserves to be taken just as seriously as the Dime post: as in, not at all. It was an opinion of “a Western Conference official”, which means absolutely nothing.
Deron Williams is a member of the Utah Jazz. He loves the city and he is the ultimate competitor. That is not to say he would never leave; it just means that Williams himself has not given any indication that he plans to do so. His three year deal was only signed to keep the Jazz on their toes because he wants to win more than anything else, and so long as the Jazz give him that opportunity, I don’t see him leaving. That doesn’t mean that the next two years won’t be filled with rumors of his departure, it just means I won’t pay any attention to them until Deron himself says he wants out.
Replies: 8
Views: 1068
8 Responses
I’ve been following this myself, and DIME posted another article on the topic: http://dimemag.com/2010/09/setting-the-record-straight-on-deron-williams-utah-and-dallas/. In the comments section the guy that wrote the original article (Macaluso) issues an apology. Good Stuff.
To summarize the “Dime Mag Fiasco”
http://dimemag.com/2010/08/why-deron-williams-will-leave-utah-for-dallas/
the article was picked up by these guys:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/090110dnspodero.ac1c93fe.html
that same article then made it to ESPN Rumors page
then…
Locke put this up:
http://www.nba.com/jazz/features/locked_on_jazz.html
After which the Dime replied with this:
http://dimemag.com/2010/09/setting-the-record-straight-on-deron-williams-utah-and-dallas/
Key Points:
- The original article was written by an intern
- The intern misrepresented his speculation as facts and as actual quotes from David Locke
- Locke has really poor grammar in his rebuttal
- The final reply by the Dime was well written, but riddled with excuses in the end.
- It’s been fun to follow on Twitter
From @SaltCityHoops Twitter: Final take on Dime-Locke ‘10: Fans: Read critically, don’t freak out; Dime: Distinguish opinion/rumor; Locke: Spelling/grammar/volume check
Also – this goes to show that ESPN Rumors page is really barely a reputable source of information; they took a speculation piece written by an intern (who likely wrote it to fulfill their weekly quota) and posted it as a “source close to a western conference team” … this whole thing has been entertaining to follow on Twitter though
Zak and JC- Thanks for adding substance and rounding out this post with your links. Dimes response to Locke was at about the same level of “poor taste” as was Locke’s to Dime, in my opinion. Locke should have taken a bit more time with his response and left his opinion of “who is better” out of it.
All in all, I have lost a lot of respect for Dime as a credible source.
Also, the original author wrote a good reply in the comments of the final article, basically an apology. Props to him for stepping up:
“Andrew Macaluso says:
@ All Dime Magazine Fans
First and foremost, I want to apologize for my rude and insidious comments towards a few of the posters that left comments. Yes, I am a brand new intern at Dime Magazine. It was my first day on the job and I typed up my piece about Deron leaving Utah for Dallas. At the time I thought it was a really well written article when in fact It did have errors and I thank all of you for pointing those out in which it’s going to help me out in the long run and like the old saying goes, “Learn from your mistakes.”
I understand that a few of you might not like my writing period, even after the Deron article I’ve written. But when I said “I love all my haters” that was me stating I don’t hate anyone for bashing me, hell, I don’t even hate David Locke for bashing me. I was just frustrated with all the comments and attacks I was receiving even on Twitter. I have great thanks to everyone who takes time out of their day to read my articles here on the website. I truly appreciate all the support.
When I seen that my article made it onto ESPN and caused a world wide stir with Salt Lake City, of course I was excited that it all of a sudden became a world wide piece, but I wasn’t expecting all the negativity. With that being said, I will do better and I will be better at what I do. I’m going to keep posting my articles on Dime and hopefully earn some sort of fan base.
Again, I apologize for my comments and truly appreciate everyone who reads my articles and supports Dime.
Love.”
I respect that, I don’t blame him for ESPN taking it and running with it; just some of the minor details in how his original piece was written made involved parties seem implicated (in a sense) that they stated DWill would walk.
JC- I totally agree. When I first started blogging, I wrote a post on Brandon Roy that ended up all over Blazer blogs. It seemed like within ten minutes I had the wrath of every Blazer fan in Portland on my back. You just kind of have to man-up and own what you said. It seems like he is doing that. He also seems pretty humble, which will carry him a long way in winning readers back.
We should attempt to get ESPN to use something from a Jazzbots article as a legitimate rumor.
Hey Brian! As usual, great post!
One thing though: Korver is not that one dimensional. He makes very smart reads and hands great passes. He offers smart help on D. And as far as the Jazz system goes, he was pretty awesome at it. I used to say he was one dimensional. Then I started watching the Jazz regularly in January and bought League Pass for the Playoffs. Korver’s one fault is he is not athletic enough to guard too many players one on one, so often he couldn’t stay on the floor against the Lakers, because he couldn’t guard Shanon Brown and the Jazz had enough problems with the other guys on that team alone. But other than that, he’s at least pretty consistent, when not pretty darn good. Just because he shoots the 3 better than anyone else, you can’t demand him doing everything else at that level too. I hope Hayward will be better than Kyle ever was, and Hayward has the potential for it. But let’s not undervalue Kyle.
I hate to admit it but for one am very afraid of Deron leaving for Dallas. This last season has made him smug and cocky being branded with “the best point guard in the league” title.
Deron doesn’t live in Utah anymore in the offseason all of a sudden like he used to. I’m afraid his head and ego will get the best of him and he will leave.
I would like to tell myself there is no way he would ever leave but I am not expecting it.