TORONTO — The long term view of the Nets was cloudy at times this year.
Like after Thursday night. The Nets finished the New Jersey portion of their history with an undermanned — they had eight guys — 98-67 massacre of a defeat to the Raptors to complete a fifth straight losing season. Kind of hard to see any vision there.
Cloudy? Be honest. Muddy was more like it. Seeing the big picture future for the Nets (22-44) in a positive light was hard, Deron Williams admitted. And then he went back to Brooklyn this past week and visited the Barclays Center in its final stages of construction. Suddenly, Williams remembered what the plan was all about. He could envision a team that, a) was healthy, and, b) actually able to win some games. Naturally, so much depends on what he does after his expected opt-out of the final year of his contract.
“I’ve got some big decisions to make. I think going to Brooklyn helped me see the vision again, so we’ll see what happens,” Williams said.
There was no commitment like, “Hey, I’m coming back definitely.” But there were positive words, expressions about a positive future. And that was a far cry from recent moments where he admitted to counting down the days to the end of the season for example.
“There were times this year where it was difficult to see [the vision],” said Williams, one of the seven guys who were “out” last night. “Very much so, especially when you’re on the court. . . . We’ve just had a lot of ups and downs. A lot of injuries that really hampered this team and never really got a rhythm and consistency from guys being out there, day in and day out.
“So it’s just been tough on everybody. I think we’re a playoff team if you have everybody healthy, and then you add Gerald Wallace, we’re definitely a playoff team. The injuries just cost us a lot.”
Nets fans exhaled a collective breath that could have toppled a redwood. But management didn’t seem all that moved — it expected no less. Coach Avery Johnson, who pieced together what turned out to be the 25th and final lineup of the season, nodded approvingly when told of Williams’ comments. General manager Billy King just shrugged.
“It means he’s really consistent because what he says publicly, we’ve ready talked about privately,” said Johnson who throughout has expressed his belief Williams was bound for Brooklyn. “I knew he was going to visit the arena long before anybody knew. That was a day we had circled and I knew what time he was going. So I just think for us, what he says publicly is basically the consistency he told us privately and we’re all excited about Brooklyn.”
King echoed those sentiments, noting, “He was good. Nothing’s changed. I don’t read into anything positive or negative. He has been the same all along.”
So now everything truly is about Brooklyn. The Nets finished 1,186-1,636 (.420) for their 35 seasons in New Jersey.
“This was it, our farewell, for good,” said Johnson, “Now, we embark on a new opportunity.’’ and it starts basically when the clock strikes midnight tonight. Even though we lost this game, this is kind of a new era in Nets basketball and that’s what we’re focused on.”