Deron Williams has a request: Don’t read into movements, actions or vacations.
Williams’ future remains very undetermined.
His hanging around the Nets and practicing at their facility doesn’t mean he’s staying long term. He sold his California home and is in the process of selling his house in Utah. He has nowhere else to go.
When he goes to Dallas this week, don’t interpret that as a desire to go into the employ of the Mavericks. He has family there, he grew up there, his son’s birthday party is being staged there.
His vacation to Russia was just that — a vacation to Russia. It does not mean he is Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s BFF.
“I hate all the speculation,” said Williams, who before the season revealed his intention to opt out of the final year of his contract, worth $17.8 million, for free agency. “I want to reiterate, I don’t know what I’m doing next year. Still.”
Williams said no one knows what he is going to do — “not even my mom, my brother, my uncle, my cousin. I haven’t talked to anybody about where I’m going next year.”
So dispel reports from sources, friends, confidants, strangers.
“I just hate that people think they know where I’m going, because I don’t know where I’m going,” Williams said. “So there’s no way for them to know, or assume that I’m going to Dallas or that I’m staying here. I don’t know. There could be another team that comes into the picture.”
The Nets have made Williams the face of the franchise for their move to Brooklyn next season. Much of last season, they pursued Dwight Howard, who had indicated he wanted to join Williams. But with the Magic firing coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith, that scenario has new subplots. The right pieces in the new regime could change Howard’s fickle mind again. Still, the Nets remain optimistic, but have contingency plans.
“I think he’s happy here,” Nets coach Avery Johnson said of Williams, noting GM Billy King is “prepared for any situation” in the saga. “I think he’s excited about his future and we’re all hoping and praying that’s with the Nets. He’s working out, he’s around every day.
“Obviously if he didn’t like being here, he wouldn’t be around. But, again, until he gets signed on the dotted line, we’ll stay the course. Right now, the idea and feeling is we have to do everything we can to get Deron re-signed.”
Williams has maintained a “let’s wait and see” attitude for roster improvement. He expects to begin fielding calls at 12:01 a.m. July 1.
“Probably. I’m sure when it comes down to the time, it’ll only be between a couple teams,” Williams said, noting that by July 1, “I think I’ll have a good idea. My agent [Jeff Schwartz], he’s done this before. So we’re going to talk, actually today about some scenarios.”
Williams insisted he is no closer to deciding than he was at season’s end. He has been working out and preparing for the Olympics — except for that vacation with his wife. He returned to Turkey, where he played during the lockout — and where he met King, who was scouting and had a brief chat with Prokhorov. From Turkey, he went to Russia.
“People say I’m staying here for sure because I went to Russia,” Williams said. “I’ve never been to Russia. [Andrei Kirilenko has] been telling me to come to Russia for the last six years, so I went. It was close to Turkey. I went to Turkey because I love Turkey, I played there for three months.”
Make of it what you want.