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Q. When the trade happened, did you see it coming or did you expect it? F*ck no. No, I was in Dallas getting ready to play. I had like a suite. I had all my family, friends coming to the game. So I'm in there getting taped in the in the training room in the hotel in Dallas and TV's right here. I'm getting taped and it pops up. ‘Breaking news: Deron Williams traded to the Nets’, as I'm getting taped. Somebody was like, ‘D-Will, is that true?' And I looked and I was like, ‘Sh*t, I don't know.’ Called my agent and he's like, ‘I ain't heard that. Let me let me call Kevin O'Connor.’ He was our GM. So he called Kevin O'Connor, called me back like five minutes later and he's like, ‘Yeah, they traded you.’ So I guess what happened was that was the year Melo was trying to get out of Denver. He had been talking to the Knicks. No, he'd been trying to get to the Nets. It was the Nets or the Knicks. I think they were all doing like trying to make a deal for Melo. And basically when the deal happened with Melo to New York, cuz it was right before the trade deadline, Kevin O' Conor literally just told the Nets, ‘Whatever y'all offered for Melo, and they did the swap.’ So it was that same package they had for Melo, they did for me and just made the swap. And so I found out that day. Didn't play in the game in Dallas, obviously. My teammates were on the bus, went out and told everybody bye and then packed up and headed to Brooklyn.
Tony Allen: They were saying they were saying you and Jerry Sloan got into it and you were part of the reason of him retiring. Can you speak to the viewers and straighten that on the out? Deron Williams: I think we were both super competitive people. I think first and foremost, so I wanted to win. And like I said, I talked earlier about the animosity that I held, right? I was a guy who didn't know how to deal with emotions. I didn't learn how to deal with emotions growing up, right? You know, went through a lot of sh*t with in my personal life growing up. And so carried a lot of anger with me. And so when the sh*t went down my rookie year, like I kind of always held that against him. Like it always it always bothered me. There was times where we weren't getting along, especially that last year when what happened was Carlos Boozer left, Al Jefferson came in, we had kind of a new team for the first time. Ronnie Brewer trade got traded, and he was my guy.
Deron Williams: I liked playing for coach Avery Johnson. Coach Avery's funny, too… ‘Man! Let me tell you something, man’ Coach Avery was cool, man. He was another one of those like player-coaches, loved the game, smart coach. It was fun playing for Avery. And it's unfortunate because like a lot of people even think I had something to do with him getting fired in Brooklyn. Tony Allen: So that was just your MO. Williams: I became the coach killer. I used to see signs like ‘coach killer’ and all this. I liked Avery. I ain't say nothing to him. I think he was doomed from the start, because the the Russians, from my first year, they started asking me about other coaches and I'm like telling them I like Avery, but they had their mindset on other coaches. They wanted Phil Jackson.
Jorge Sierra: Donovan Mitchell passed Deron Williams, Bill Laimbeer and Jayson Tatum in scoring last night. He's now No. 208 in NBA history.
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Why did you retire from golf? Deron Williams: Um... I don’t know. I just stopped liking it. I think I hit my ceiling. I got to scratch, and I couldn’t get to that plus one, plus two. Plus, man—it takes a lot of time. There’s a lot of grind that goes with playing golf. I could spend 30 to 40 hours a week playing and there’s no chance of me getting better. I could actually get worse. There’s no other sport like that. So I just got frustrated with that process. Will Hardy: Well, I just want to let you know that the rumor going around here is Danny Ainge tells everybody that, because he beat you in a match in the Crew Cup, that forced you into retirement. I'm just telling you what's being said. Deron Williams: Oh, I know what—Danny's full of it. Actually, I think I got some receipts somewhere. Yeah, at Pebble Beach—I beat Danny. I closed him out on, I think, the 16th hole. So yeah. We know you're watching on Jazz Plus. The truth finally comes out.
The NBA announced on Monday that basketball legends Tim Hardaway Sr, Stephon Marbury, Shawn Marion, Shaquille O'Neal, Mitch Richmond and Deron Williams will headline the first-ever NBA House event to be held in China, set to take place in Macao from Oct 8 – 12. An interactive fan event and immersive basketball experience celebrating the convergence of basketball, music, fashion and technology, NBA House will be held at The Venetian, Macao, in conjunction with the NBA China Games 2025 presented by Taobao 88VIP.
Mike Vorkunov: The Bucks decided to waive-and-stretch the $112.6 million owed to Damian Lillard. That's not only the largest stretch-waive ever in NBA history, it's more than the total sum of the 3 previous largest stretch-waive contracts I could find (Joakim Noah, Deron Williams and Nic Batum)
Carlos Boozer strode confidently through Zions Bank Basketball Center, the Utah Jazz training facility. Once upon a time, he walked this space as a player. Those were his All-Star days. His Olympian days. The days of Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko and the late, great Jerry Sloan. The days of Utah’s powder blue uniform. Today, Boozer is back with the organization, and, along with Avery Bradley, is a key cog in a front office tasked with selecting the fifth pick in Wednesday night’s NBA Draft. Utah’s war room will be different for Boozer, not only because he’s no longer a player, but also because the building has undergone renovations since his playing days. And we’re talking about a front office that has transitioned in general managers from Kevin O’Connor to Dennis Lindsey, to Justin Zanik, to Danny Ainge, and now to Austin Ainge.
HoopsHype reported Wednesday that Carlos Boozer is “expected to join the Jazz organization as a scout." While the Jazz hadn’t officially confirmed the news as of Wednesday afternoon, it appears to be true, as prospect Milos Uzoh confirmed Boozer gave him feedback along with the rest of the Jazz’s front office in a workout last week. Boozer, longtime Jazz fans will remember, was a two-time All-Star in his six years with Utah. From 2004-10, Boozer averaged 19.3 points and 10.5 rebounds for the team, pushing them, along with teammate Deron Williams, to a Western Conference Finals berth in 2007.
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NBA Central: Deron Williams reveals that he wanted to play for the Lakers during his prime. “I wanted to play with Kobe.” 👀🔥 (Via @ThePlayersTV ) pic.twitter.com/qBdhEfGosd
ClutchPoints: "Kyrie is the most skilled player I’ve ever seen, as far as just pure skill. There’s nothing on the offensive end that he can’t do… He’s a wizard with the basketball.” Deron Williams gives Kyrie Irving his flowers 💐 (via @ThePlayersTV) pic.twitter.com/ew327EY0vo
"Kyrie is the most skilled player I’ve ever seen, as far as just pure skill. There’s nothing on the offensive end that he can’t do… He’s a wizard with the basketball.”
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 14, 2024
Deron Williams gives Kyrie Irving his flowers 💐
(via @ThePlayersTV)pic.twitter.com/ew327EY0vo
Jorge Sierra: Players Donovan Mitchell (age 27) passed in playoff scoring yesterday: Carlos Boozer Deron Williams Lamar Odom Bailey Howell Chris Bosh Vinnie Johnson Not bad at all. He's No. 144 all-time now.