ESPN Dallas ruminates on whether it's better for a local athlete to play at home or leave for the bright lights and big city. And who better to help them figure it out but the one person who would want said athlete near home and hearth but the athlete's mother. In this case of course we're talking about Deron Williams.

First off, Denise Smith says she doesn't know what her son is going to do. Nor, she says, does Deron at this point. What she does say is that he'll make a decision very soon after midnight July 1 and there are downsides as well as upsides for him and his family in Dallas.

"I think he and his agent have gone over all of the possibilities and I think it [his decision] will be made pretty fast," she said. "I think he wants it out of the way, just because I know I'm asked every day, so I know he's asked a million times. I'm asked, his brother's asked; my best friend, they've asked her."

As for whether Williams has a "warm and fuzzy" feel for Dallas, Mrs. Smith says don't be so sure. In his first two off-seasons, Deron and Amy had a house in a Dallas suburb, but found friends were always dropping by. "People would just show up, and they felt like they never had any privacy."

• Can Deron Williams come home? - Jeff Caplan - ESPN Dallas