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Official: The Brooklyn Nets waive Deron Williams

By Tom Lorenzo
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

A little housekeeping, as the Brooklyn Nets have officially waived Deron Williams, something that we've known was coming for the past 24 hours now. But, as of Saturday, July 11, it has become official. Goodbye, Deron Williams.

Nets' GM Billy King released a statement as well, saying, "I would like to thank Deron for everything he gave the organization over the past 4 ½ years. I would like to wish Deron and his family good luck in the future."

What's next for Deron? Well, as reported by Marc Stein and others, he is expected to sign a 2-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks once he clears waivers.

Here are some of the numbers on Deron, per the Nets' press release:

Williams (6’3", 200) appeared in 277 games (258 starts) with the Nets after joining the team via trade from Utah on February 23, 2011. He registered averages of 16.6 points and 7.5 assists in 34.2 minutes per game and was named an All-Star in 2012, his first full season with the Nets. In 2014-15, Williams appeared in 68 games (55 starts), recording averages of 13.0 points and 6.6 assists in 31.1 minutes per game. Williams also saw action in 25 playoff games with Brooklyn, averaging 15.6 points and 6.5 assists in 36.5 minutes per game.

In 716 career games (664 starts) split between the Nets and Jazz, the 31-year-old Williams has averaged 17.0 points and 8.5 assists in 35.1 minutes per game.

And just like that, it's official, the Deron Williams era in Brooklyn has come to an end. As per usual, the Nets did not release the terms of any buyout agreement in their press release, but NetsDaily has learned from multiple sources that Williams will receive $27.5 million from the Nets. Add the $10 million he'll reportedly receive from the Mavericks and Williams will walk away with $37.5 million, meaning he sacrificed a little less than $6 million.

Billy King and Lionel Hollins spoke to reporters in Las Vegas about both the decision to buy out Williams --"It was just time"-- and how the Nets are not marketing Joe Johnson. "Joe will be here," he said, confirming reports that the Nets value Johnson's veteran leadership.

"I think we both made it work -- tried to make it work -- I think we had some great moments with him," King said. The Nets GM added that the team made the first overtures about a buyout during a lunch he had with Jeff Schwartz, Williams agent.

"You do not coach in the NBA and have confrontation," Hollins said, downplaying reports of his rocky relationship with Williams. "If you don't have confrontation, but you're trying to impose your will on players to do what is best for the team, and a lot of the time players have their own mindset of what's best for them. And so 'clash' is a wrong word, and if people think Deron Williams was let go because something happened between us, then I should have let Zach Randolph go, I should have let Tony Allen go, I should have let Marc Gasol go, I should have let Rudy Gay go."

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