It is no secret Deron Williams of the Brooklyn Nets has not been all that great in the past few seasons. He was consistently one of the few best point guards in the NBA throughout his time in Utah, and after a decent start with New Jersey/Brooklyn, injuries have claimed a lot of his productivity.
So it is imperative that the 2014-15 season is a good one for Deron, who has to prove himself to still be among the top players in the NBA, a moniker he definitely wants to reclaim.
What he does not want is non-positive thoughts that could contribute to a possible derailing of his attempt to get back on top of his game.
Apparently, Kobe Bryant does not necessarily want to comply with D-Will’s wishes. The Lakers superstar, a few days ago, questioned Deron’s performance and decision-making in Game Two of the second-round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Heat — in which he was 0 for 9 from the field and was scoreless.
Kobe said that he would rather go 0 for 30 in a game than 0 for 9, because he thinks stars should try to shoot themselves out of bad slumps instead of letting the slump determine their playing style for them.
Did Deron just take that hit? Nope, he fought back with some inspired language.
From Tim Bontemps of the New York Post: “No. I’m a point guard,” Williams said after Sunday’s practice. “If I’m 0 for [bleeping] 9, I’m not shooting 20 more shots. Not going to happen. I’m a point guard. I’m going to find somebody else…”
Clearly, Deron is not going to take that kind of verbal shade, even if it from one of the best players in NBA history.
His viewpoint makes sense: As a point guard, his job is not to hog the ball by throwing up tons of shots. Meanwhile, Kobe’s job as a shooting guard is self-explanatory: to shoot the ball.
And good for Deron to defend himself, especially considering the rough patch that the past few seasons have been for him. Maybe this off-court, before-the-preseason media riff between him and Kobe gives him that extra motivation to push through and bring his game back to where he and the Nets want it to be.
