The Dallas Mavericks are moving on from the free agency bust that is DeAndre Jordan and reportedly agreed to a deal with seasoned point guard Deron Williams.
ESPN reported that Williams, 31, reached an agreement with the Mavericks on a two-year, $10-million deal. The Brooklyn Nets waived Williams after completing a buyout of his contract, and he has expressed his interest to return to his hometown and play for the Mavericks.
Brooklyn made the announcement of Williams' departure from the team Saturday. "I don't want to say Deron wanted to go. I think it was just time. We both tried to make it work. We had some great moments with him," Nets general manager Billy King said in a report by the Associated Press.
"Where we are as an organization, we're not in the same place we were before. It was a chance to reshuffle the deck," he added.
Williams was one of the leaders for Brooklyn in his first years with the franchise, but in the past few years, he was plagued by injuries which slowed him down.
The Nets were planning to let go of either Williams or guard Joe Johnson because of their lucrative contracts which limit the team's cap space. But with Williams already leaving the franchise, Brooklyn now plans to keep Johnson, according to a report by ESPN.
The addition of the veteran point guard is important for the Mavs following the departure of Rajon Rondo for the Sacramento Kings. Dallas tried to sign Jeremy Lin to address its point guard issues but "Linsanity" signed with the Charlotte Hornets instead.
Williams averaged 13 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists in 68 regular season games last season which included 55 starts. In the Nets' first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks, he averaged 11.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals in six games.
