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D-Will: "I felt like everyone thought I was the problem"

By Anthony Puccio
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Deron Williams finished with 20 points and seven assists in the Dallas Mavericks' 107-94 victory over the New York Knicks. The former face of the Nets franchise has played a crucial role in the Mavericks early success thus far, as he's averaged 15 points and six assists per game. After the "W," Williams briefly talked about his former team, as Andy Vasquez of the Bergen Record notes:

And then earlier in the night, Mavericks owner Marc Cuban comment on it:

Let's not forget. Deron Williams didn't exactly volunteer to go to New York, initially. He was traded to New Jersey and then chose to stay with the Nets because of a considerable differential in money and opportunity to be in the big city. His earlier contract expired as the Nets were making their move into the borough. They felt they needed him to be the face of the franchise, and he liked that $99 million the Nets were offering. His hometown Dallas was a competitor in the race ... but didn't even offer him a max deal. Their best and final was $70 million.

However, Williams signed with the Nets and one  reason might have been the absence of Cuban during the recruiting meeting.

But Cuban is the real winner of this all, getting D-Will at a discounted price while the Nets continue to pay him to play for the Mavericks. Nobody's blaming them, but is it something the Nets are smiling about during a time of further turmoil?

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