The crosshairs are back on Deron Williams as another disappointing season nears its end, thanks to back-to-back disappearing acts in critical games and a harsh critique from former teammate Paul Pierce.
With the Nets set to play their season finale Wednesday against the Magic – a game they have to win in order to keep their playoff hopes alive – another Hall of Famer jumped on the Williams’ blame train.
“I can’t argue with what Paul Pierce said. I have to agree with him,” Reggie Miller told WFAN. “I don’t really like to kill guys but you have to call a spade a spade. I think he’s right on.
“The most important position in the game today is the point guard position,” he added. “And if you can’t get that out of your point guard – because that’s the coach on the floor. That’s the guy that has to get everyone rallying in the right position. So if your point guard is not demanding and is not accountable and is holding everyone else accountable, your team is going to struggle. That’s why Brooklyn has struggled because Deron Williams – not only has he not held himself accountable, he’s not holding anybody on the floor accountable as well.”
A day earlier, ESPN published an interview with Pierce calling out Williams for folding under the pressure of New York, saying the point guard had no interest in being a star. The accountability critique from Miller will likely strike a chord with Nets fans who’ve seen Williams blame a multitude of things for his struggles over the last four years, from injuries to teammates to coaching to the shooting background of the arena.
Williams, along with Joe Johnson, declined to talk to the media before Wednesday’s game. Coach Lionel Hollins tried to brush it away.
“I don’t really care. I wasn’t here. All I can go about is how we are this year and as I’ve said many times, the vocal leader of our team early on was (Kevin Garnett) and since he’s left it’s been more collective,” Hollins said. “Players say all kinds of stuff. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn’t. But they’re entitled to it.”
Going into the night – a must-win in every sense – Williams was averaging 13 points and 6.6 assists while shooting 39 percent. His numbers have dipped in every season since being traded to the Nets in 2011, and after signing a $98 million contract a year later to become the face of the franchise.
In the two games prior to Wednesday – with the playoffs hanging in the balance – Williams missed 20 of his 24 shots as the Nets were blown out by the Bulls and Bucks.
“I think a lot of the pressure got to him sometimes,” Pierce said. “This was his first time in the national spotlight. The media in Utah is not the same as the media in New York, so that can wear on some people. I think it really affected him.”
Three years after shaping a roster to try to keep Williams, the Nets tried to trade the 30-year-old before the February deadline but discovered the market was disinterested. Williams has two years and $43.4 million remaining on his contract.
