Deron Williams advised general manager Billy King not to wait for Dwight Howard as the Brooklyn Nets approached the 2012 offseason.

"One thing Deron did say to me, he said, 'Please, just don't wait on Dwight. We can't wait and not have a team,'" King said during the premiere of NBA TV's "The Association: Brooklyn Nets," which will air on Oct. 16.

"The team of Brooklyn is bigger than one person. I owed it to the organization, I owed it to our fans, I owed it to Deron and the players that we have to build for Brooklyn, and we went forward and built our team."

The Nets had struggled to surround Williams with complementary pieces to remain competitive as they attempted to acquire Howard.

In the offseason, the Nets re-signed Brook Lopez, Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries, while trading for Joe Johnson.

The Magic eventually traded Howard to the Lakers.