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Ever since the Nets acquired Deron Williams Feb. 23, 2011, from Utah, they’ve had July 1, 2012, hanging over their heads.
That day, of course, is when Williams officially will become an unrestricted free agent and leave the Nets, hoping they’ve done enough to convince the superstar point guard to re-sign with the team and become the face of the franchise as the team moves to Brooklyn this fall.
But with free agency set to kick off at midnight Sunday, Nets general manager Billy King is glad he’ll soon know whether or not Williams will be his point guard moving forward.
“There’s certainty coming,” King said during his pre-draft press conference yesterday at the team’s practice facility. “That’s the thing about it, and we’re prepared either way.
“The greatest thing I learned from [Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski] is ‘When something happens, you don’t look back . . . you go to the next play.’ So that’s what we’re prepared for. If things happen, you go on to the next play, good or bad.”
Williams has been a fixture at the Nets’ practice facility ever since the season ended as he prepares for the beginning of training camp for the Olympic team next month in Las Vegas. Yesterday was no exception, and he even poked his head into King’s press conference to see what was going on.
King asked his point guard if he’d like to switch places with him, an offer Williams declined before heading back into the gym to work out.
After Williams left, King reiterated his confidence the Nets will be able to convince him to stick around.
“I think I’ve stuck with the same thing [from the beginning],” he said. “I’m not overconfident. I feel good.
“July 1 is July 1, and we’ll have some finality to it.”
The next few days will be particularly hectic for King and the rest of the Nets front office, as Williams is far from the only loose end the Nets have to tie up. With only four players currently on the roster, the work to fill out the lineup for the team’s first season in Brooklyn begins tonight with the NBA Draft.
For the second straight year, the Nets enter the draft without a first-round pick, after sending their pick to Portland for Gerald Wallace at the trade deadline. Last year, King traded up to snag guard MarShon Brooks — who went on to make the NBA’s All-Rookie second team — with the 25th pick, and the Nets are expected to explore moving into the first round again tonight.
“I didn’t know if we were going to move up to get MarShon the day before the draft,” King said. “It just happened. And that’s why we focus so hard on getting our rankings on how we’d take guys, not just how we think it’s going to go. If guys start falling, you sort of know how things lined up so if we need a pick I know what it takes to get there.”
For now, the Nets have only the 57th pick, a spot where King isn’t expecting to land a player who will be a difference maker next season. It’s possible the Nets will use the pick on a foreign player they can leave overseas to gain experience.
“Most likely, if it’s a guy there, it’s somebody that we’re going to put in a program and let them develop,” King said. “I’ll be shocked if it’s somebody that will impact next season.”
tbontemps@nypost.com