Deron Williams will not sign a contract extension with the New Jersey Nets, his agent says. But that doesn't mean he won't be around when the team moves to Brooklyn next year.
Dec 1, 2011 - The New Jersey Nets are in the midst of a full-scale renovation, and the man at the center of the new blueprint isn't ready to commit to being part of the plans. At least not yet.
Deron Williams' agent said Thursday that his client has no plans of signing an extension to stay in New Jersey this year. Instead, he'll test the free agent market this summer, when he could possibly re-sign in New Jersey. This may sound like a controversial move, but it shouldn't.
As his agent Jeff Schwartz tells Al Iannazzone at The Record, ""Based on the new rules it doesn’t make any sense for him to sign the extension. It has nothing to do with how much he likes New Jersey. Because of the rules, he’s going to play the season out and probably opt out of his deal."
Indeed, under the old CBA, the Nets could've offered him a bigger extension now in exchange for his long-term commitment. But under the new CBA, because the NBA wanted to prevent players from signing bigger extensions with teams and then forcing a sign-and-trade, the Nets can't offer any more money than anyone else.
Next summer, though? Brooklyn will have a new arena, plenty of cap room, a young roster, and most importantly, they'll be able to offer their superstar a bigger and longer contract than any team in the NBA. There's hope yet, Nets fans.
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