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At no point leading up to this summer’s crucial free agency period was Brooklyn coach Avery Johnson comfortable enough to believe that point guard Deron Williams was a lock to re-sign with the Nets.
Williams grew up in the Dallas suburb of The Colony and narrowed his free agent choices to the Dallas Mavericks and the Nets. Eventually, Williams signed a five-year, $98 million contract with the Nets after seriously considering returning home to play for the Mavericks.
Johnson, who spoke Tuesday at the Fort Worth Dunbar High School assembly, said he and Nets general manager Billy King were never overconfident about Williams’ desire to remain a part of the Nets.
“We felt we were going to be able to re-sign Deron,” Johnson said. “We felt it was like 80-90 percent, but it was the 10 percent that you were worried about.”
— Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
