Williams Was Leaning Toward Mavericks Until Johnson Trade
Deron Williams was leaning toward signing with the Mavericks until the Nets traded for Joe Johnson.
"I was really close to going to Dallas. I actually thought that's where I was going to go," Williams said on Friday.
Williams said that playing with Johnson, he believes the Nets "for a longer time would be the better team" than the Mavericks.
"Joe got me over the hump,'' he said. "I've never played with anybody like him, a guy on the wing that can get his own shot and also get me involved and is a great defender. We could be one of the top backcourts in the NBA for sure."
Williams admitted the decision was difficult.
"It was a hard decision," he said. "It was my hometown, the team that I grew up watching, would have loved to play for and my family would have loved to seen me play. I kind of felt I let the city I'm from down because they wanted me there so bad. It was a really tough decision, but I think it ultimately came down to where I felt I had a better chance to win for a longer period of time."