Deron Williams breaks off-season "silence" with workout video

Deron Williams has largely been silent this summer.  Since he underwent surgery on both his ankles in May, he's said nothing and tweeted mostly about his charities, particularly his annual DodgeBall event on September 15. It was reported that he was the first player to talk with Lionel Hollins, but for the most part, the off-season "news" about Deron Williams has been limited to discussions of his decline ... and the Nets'.There was little if any discussion of his progress.

Then early Friday evening this appeared...

Matt Mitnick, D-Will's long time pal, posted an Instagram video of what appears to be a recent Williams workout. Mitnick, who works for D-Will's charity, added the following hashtags ... #Handles #GettingRight #ComeBackSeason #Gr8ness #KeepSleeping #GoingToBeAProblem #PuttingInThatWork #OneMonthTillCamp #Brooklyn #Nets #Hungry #JustTheBeginning

And we're back!

Word from various sources within the Nets organization had been that the surgeries went well and that his rehab was on track. The plan, announced last May, was that he would resume basketball activities in September. Now comes this video which seems to indicate he already has!

Next, the hard part: regaining that superstar mindset. Just before he underwent surgery, he told reporters, "I used to step on the court and feel like I was the best player no matter who I played against, so I’ve got to get back to that."

Lionel Hollins would like to help him back to that level. He spoke with Mike Mazzeo about players' confidence levels and particularly D-Will's.

"I think first of all he has to be healthy and he has to be in great shape and we’re going to try to put him in a situation where he can flourish, which will give him confidence and go from there. I mean confidence comes and goes with all players no matter how good they are."

Injuries, especially lingering ones, can affect a player in lot of different ways,  both physically and mentally, Hollins explained.

"If you’re injured, you can’t be who you are. You can’t make the same moves or be as explosive as you are, and it’s difficult to go out there and go 100 percent. You’re always worried about what’s going to happen if you push off, stop, change direction, all of those things."

Hollins admitted he doesn't know how he will approach D-Will "because I don’t even know where he is from that perspective [a confidence perspective] at this moment," he told Mazzeo.