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Berger: D-Will Still Dallas Big Target and "Interest Believed To Be Mutual"

Apr 8, 2012; Newark, NJ, USA;  New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams (8) during the second half  against the Cleveland Cavaliers at  the Prudential Center. The Nets won the game in overtime 122-117  Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-US PRESSWIRE
Apr 8, 2012; Newark, NJ, USA; New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams (8) during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Prudential Center. The Nets won the game in overtime 122-117 Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-US PRESSWIRE

We don't know if Mikhail Prokhorov's schedule has an item marked, "Heavy wooing, Deron Williams" or if the two have already spoken, but increasingly it looks like Prokhorov's chief competition for D-Will is fellow billionaire Mark Cuban. In discussing Lamar Odom's departure from the Dallas scene, Ken Berger writes it's all part of Cuban's master plan.

"The long-term part of the plan remains intact for the Mavs, who will hold out hope they can trade Odom in conjunction with the draft," writes Berger who notes that Odom is owed only $2.4 million next season. "Such a move would maximize their cap space for this summer, when they are widely expected to make a run at the Nets' Williams as a free agent. The interest is believed to be mutual."

Williams grew up in Dallas and although those close to him say he enjoys the anonymity of New York, there has been a steady drumbeat of Williams-to-Mavericks stories the last couple of weeks.