The Deron Williams Buyout Impact on Boston Celtics

On Friday, the Brooklyn Nets reached an agreement with former-all-star point guard Deron Williams to buyout the remaining two years of his contract. This is a move that should make Boston Celtics fans giddy, and you all know exactly why.

In the 2013 trade that sent Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn, Danny Ainge received the Brooklyn Nets 2016 first round draft pick, the right to swap places with the Nets in the first round of the 2017 draft, AND the Nets 2018 first round draft pick. To put things as plainly as possible, the worse off the Nets are, the better off the Celtics are.

It’s no sure thing that the Nets will finish in the lottery just because they are rid of Deron Williams. Despite being just three years removed from three consecutive all-star appearances, Williams was clearly on the decline. Injuries have played a large part in his three year tenure in Brooklyn, and that can only get worse with age.

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Williams is 31 now, and has failed to play in all 82 games of a season since the 2007-08 season. That was also the only year out of his 11 year career where he registered over 3,000 minutes. That doesn’t exactly sound like a star player, though it didn’t stop the Nets from signing him to a 5 year, $98 million contract back in 2012.

Over three seasons with the Nets, Williams scoring totals descended from 18.9 per game, to 14.3 per game, to 13.0 per game. Noting the decreasing value of D. Will, and beginning to deal with off-court problems, the Nets put him on the trading block to see what they could get. Since the answer was essentially nothing, it came time to reach a buyout agreement. Now the Nets will pay out $27.5 million of the remaining $43 on his contract, considering the last year of his contract has an early-termination clause.

May 1, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Lionel Hollins talks with Brooklyn Nets small forward Joe Johnson (7) during the third quarter of game six of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks at Barclays Center. The Hawks defeated the Nets 111-87 to win the series 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets now must rely on another aging guard in 34-year-old Joe Johnson, whom was rumored to be Cleveland-bound at one point, and the recently re-signed Brook Lopez. They simply don’t have too much going for them, and that is the best thing the Boston Celtics could possibly ask for.

It became clear during this year’s NBA draft that the fabled “Brooklyn Picks” weren’t worth as much as Celtics fans talked themselves into believing. This shouldn’t be a huge shock, since Brooklyn has consistently made the playoffs and landed outside of the lottery. With the buyout of Williams, these Brooklyn first-rounders should immediately gain more value. I would be shocked if the Nets made the playoffs this year with their decimated core that now lacks Paul Pierce and Deron Williams, both of whom were largely responsible for the teams first round success against Toronto in 2014.

This should give Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics plenty of flexibility during this offseason, mid-season, and next year’s offseason. By the time of the trade deadline, it will be clear what this Brooklyn team really is. If they are scraping the bottom of the barrel, a legitimate possibility, Ainge would have the option of packaging those picks and bringing a serious player in to Boston.

If there are no takers on the picks, much like this year, I wouldn’t be upset if Ainge decided to hold on to them either. Call me overly-optimistic, but I am expecting the 2016 pick to be top 10. Even playing in the weaker Eastern Conference, the Nets would have to be full of surprises to find their way in to the playoffs with this roster.

Mar 23, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams (8) passes the ball away from Boston Celtics forward Jonas Jerebko (8) during second half at Barclays Center. Boston Celtics won 110-91.

Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

In short, my point is that the Deron Williams buyout just made the Boston Celtics assets a lot more valuable. The best plan of attack is to wait until the trade deadline and put together a package to bring an all-star in to Boston. The picks alone won’t be nearly enough to do that, but hopefully some of the young Celtics players in a contract year will have increased their value by that point.

The best target for the Celtics would be a team in the midst of a rebuild who has little-to-no hope of making the playoffs by the time of the trade deadline. With that in mind, a western conference team may be your best target… Perhaps a western conference team with a young, all-star center on an extremely budget-friendly contract… Perhaps that center is finally ready for a taste of the playoffs, and ready to get away from a toxic front office and a coach he doesn’t get along with…

DeMarcus Cousins is far from realistic for the Celtics, but the point is there. Some of the Celtics stockpile of assets along with some young players who may be having a nice year will be worth something at the trade deadline.

The trade deadline is the time to make a move if Boston has any hopes of luring free agents in 2016 after the salary cap jump puts every team in a similarly-wonderful cap situation. If Ainge and the Celtics go this route, look for the Brooklyn Nets first round picks to be a part of the package. While the picks didn’t get the job done at this years draft, the departure of Deron Williams could turn things around going forward.

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