Jersey Shore: The reality is the Nets stink

Poor Deron Williams. This was supposed to be the year when he would cement his legacy as the best point guard in the game. The year he would tag team with Dwight Howard to make the first serious run at a championship in his career.

Or at least put fear in the top teams in the Eastern conference. With Howard by his side Williams would lead the New Jersey Nets deep into the playoffs giving the whole world and especially the people of Brooklyn a preview of what they can expect for the 2012-2013 season.

Sadly that is not the case. Williams has done everything he can to keep the Nets afloat this season as witnessed by his All-Star numbers but it hasn’t been enough. The Nets would have to reel off a serious run of wins from this point to even make the playoffs.

Things in New Jersey are actually worse than that. At 8-21 the season is almost halfway over so it would take a serious run just to get their record up to .500.  The idea of the Nets securing a playoff berth is actually laughable at this point.

But the media hasn’t trumped up the stories of Williams’ impending departure the way they have Howard’s. Quite frankly I think the Nets would be smart to try and recoup some of the assets they lost when they traded for him last year by trading him before the deadline. If not they are going to be seriously hurt when he leaves at season's end.

Because the fact of the matter is he is definitely leaving. Williams has already expressed his desire to play with the Dallas Mavericks and don’t think Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban wasn’t listening. He has already cleared room off his payroll to receive Williams and Howard during the upcoming offseason.

And with the Nets occupying the last spot in the Atlantic Division, it may be time for the Nets to change course and start planning for the future. Their plan to pair up Howard and Williams isn’t going to happen and unless they can swing a trade for another big name player to play alongside Williams between now and the trade deadline then they will most assuredly lose Williams by season’s end.

So it may be a good idea to trade Williams, tank the season and focus the team on up-and-coming player Marshon Brooks. Brooks has shown that he is a gamer. He is talented and he plays extremely hard. It may be too early to project this now but if he continues to play like he has so far this season he could be an All-Star in a couple of years.

In the meanwhile they can concentrate on their move to Brooklyn and try to look for talent they can mesh with Brooks. I know they were hoping to kick off their impending move to Brooklyn in grand fashion but that is looking less and less likely. They’ll be lucky just to be competitive next season. 

Roosevelt Hall is an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2 and also writes for Shatter The Backboard. He can be contacted at RHall@shatterthebackboard.com. Follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist and add him on Facebook Roosevelt Hall Thesportmentalist.