DURHAM, N.C. – This year the Nets are all about new faces. From Jason Kidd on the bench to Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry and Andrei Kirilenko on the court, the Nets spent all offseason renovating their team in pursuit of a championship.
But if the Nets hope to reach their lofty goals, it will be in large part because one of the old faces, Deron Williams, plays like his old self. That would be the player he was during his stellar tenure in Utah, where Williams was almost universally considered one of the two best point guards in the game alongside his good friend Chris Paul.
“I mean, that’s important, but that doesn’t overshadow what we want to do as a team,” Williams said of returning to that level of play following the team’s first practice of the year Tuesday morning at Duke University. “I feel like we can compete at the highest level, and I am a big part of that. So I want to play well for my teammates, for this organization and for the fans.”
Williams was limited in Tuesday’s practice, thanks to the lingering effects of a sprained right ankle he suffered during workouts in Utah in early September. Ongoing issues with his ankles throughout the first half of last season held Williams far below his usual standard of play, a trend that stopped after the All-Star break once Williams underwent plasma-rich platelet treatment, went on a juice diet to reduce his weight and took three cortisone shots.
He returned to the kind of form — 22.9 points and 8.0 assists per game — after the break the Nets knew he was capable of when they signed him to a max contract last summer, but Williams admitted his confidence also was shaken because of his struggles to play at the level he is accustomed to.
“The last couple of years, I’ve lost confidence,” he said. “Being on a losing team was tough for me for the first time in my career. I picked up bad habits. I got negative at times, and it’s hard to get out of that when bad habits set in.
“Now I’ve got great teammates. I’ve got guys that can keep me straight when things go south. … I’m excited about this year, about the leadership we brought in, and I’m excited about playing for Jason Kidd so I can get my confidence back and I saw that happen the last half of the season, and I want to continue to build on that.”
As part of their preparation for the beginning of training camp, the Nets had a team dinner on Monday night with everyone who came with the team on the trip, followed by a players and coaches-only meeting in which the coaches mostly listened to the players, as the group discussed what was expected of each member of the team.
The message from the veterans — led by Jason Terry — was they are there for Williams if he needs anything, and he doesn’t need to carry the entire team on his back.
“Well, for Deron, for me, I’m his support group,” Terry said. “We talk to him and we just tell him to lean on us as veterans. If you don’t feel like your confidence is where it should be, lean on us. We’ve seen all types of situations, and we’re here to help.”
Kidd started working on Williams’ psyche this summer, when he said he thinks Williams can and should be a double-digit assist guy this season. It is something, however, Kidd said he plans to keep emphasizing as the season progresses.
“We’ll sit down and talk and confidence is something that is overlooked in this league a lot of times,” he said. “Everyone has talent, but the guys who have confidence are the ones that dominate a game.
“For Deron, I thought he was at that level at the end of the season last year in the second half, and again, health does play a little part. But for us to get his confidence high on a consistent basis is something this team needs.”
And Williams, once he’s able to get back on the floor and practice fully sometime in the next week or two, hopes to carry over the confidence he gained with his strong play late last season.
“I can build on the second half of last year,” he said. “I feel like I came on stronger after the All-Star break, and hopefully I can continue that this year.”