NBA

Deron Williams re-signs with Nets

Billy King’s big gamble paid off.

The Nets general manager took a huge risk when, after failing to land Carmelo Anthony, he traded Derrick Favors, Devin Harris and two additional lottery picks to Utah for Deron Williams in February of 2011 when Williams could test free agency this summer without ever playing a game in the team’s new home in Brooklyn.

But that risk paid off Tuesday, when Williams issued a tweet announcing his decision.

“Made a very tough decision today….” Williams tweeted, with a photo of the new Brooklyn Nets logo.

His decision to re-sign with the Nets for a five-year contract for the maximum salary allowed under the salary cap, roughly $100 million, ensures that the superstar point guard will be the unquestioned face of the franchise as they transition to Brooklyn this fall.

The Nets, who were able to offer an extra year and over $25 million in salary more than any other team, only ever had serious competition from one other team: Williams’ hometown Dallas Mavericks. Both teams met with Williams in the New York metropolitan area Monday, before the Nets won out when Williams decided to agree to spend his prime playing in Brooklyn.

Once the deal becomes official on July 11, when the league’s moratorium for signing free agents comes to an end, the Nets now have one of the league’s elite players – and arguably its best point guard – locked in for the next five years, as they continue to assemble a roster that should place the franchise in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference.

Since free agency began at 12:01 Sunday morning, King has been busy making moves – and spending Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s money – to convince Williams that his future belongs in Brooklyn. In the opening hours of free agency, the Nets came to an agreement with Gerald Wallace, who they acquired at the trade deadline in March, on a four-year, $40 million deal.

They then agreed to a trade with the Hawks Monday afternoon for six-time All-Star Joe Johnson, agreeing to send the expiring contracts of Anthony Morrow, Jordan Farmar, Johan Petro and Jordan Williams, a signed-and-traded DeShawn Stevenson and Houston’s lottery-protected first-rounder in next year’s draft to take on the four years and nearly $90 million remaining on Johnson’s contract.

But both moves pale in comparison to the importance of re-signing Williams, who gives the franchise a true superstar to market going into the brand new Barclays Center, and a premier floor general that will almost certainly lead them back into the playoffs for the first time since Jason Kidd was still on the roster back in 2006-07.

Williams averaged 21.0 points and 8.7 assists last season for the Nets, the only player in the NBA to qualify for the top 10 in scoring and assists. The 28-year-old, whose birthday was last week and who is set to play on the U.S. Olympic team for the second time later this summer, has career averages of 17.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 9.2 assists.

With Williams re-signed, the Nets now have arguably the NBA’s best backcourt between Williams and Johnson, with Wallace slotting in at small forward to set up three-fifths of their starting lineup. The fourth starting spot could be filled by Bosnian power forward Mirza Teletovic, who agreed to a three-year deal with the Nets for the full mid-level exception, worth $15.7 million, with his backup being former Clippers power forward Reggie Evans, who the Nets acquired in a sign-and-trade yesterday and signed to a three-year deal worth $5 million.

In addition, the Nets have made it clear since long before free agency began that they will match any offer for restricted free agent center Brook Lopez, and they also could still re-sign or sign-and-trade both Kris Humphries and Gerald Green, as well as use the $1.9 million bi-annual exception as they go about filling out their roster. They could even still make a run after Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard, who they have long hoped to pair with Williams.

But the key to it all was securing Williams’ signature, and ensuring that the franchise would be led into its new city and new home by one of the game’s elite talents.

tbontemps@nypost.com