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Williams frustration setting in

Discussion in 'NBA Dish' started by J.R., Jan 24, 2011.

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J.R. Member

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BOSTON -- Deron Williams sat slumped in his locker, uniform still on, ice bags wrapped tightly around both knees. Splashed across his face was the bewildered look of a man who recognizes a problem yet couldn't quite pinpoint how to fix it. Friday night's 110-86 loss to the Celtics was Utah's third straight, one that followed back-to-back defeats to the woeful Wizards and Nets.

"I don't even have much to say," Williams said. "It's been rough all season. And it's getting worse."

Gone, it seems, is the memory of the Jazz's early success, back when they were the NBA's Cardiac Kids, a team that specialized in storming back from big deficits. That team fell behind the Lakers, Heat and Magic by at least 18 and still found ways to win. This team? They still fall behind, only now they lack the energy or enthusiasm to catch up.

"We haven't shown a lot of desire to get out and get after people and blocking people off the boards or running people off the floor," said Jerry Sloan. "[Boston] got rebounds tonight when it looked like we didn't have any interest in it. Tough to win that way."

Indeed, Utah's lack of effort in recent days has been particularly troubling to Sloan, the NBA's longest tenured coach.

"We need everyone to come and play hard," Sloan said. "That takes care of a lot of sins. If you don't come and play hard and you get caught in situations where you're not sure what is going on and your mind drifts a little bit, you're in trouble. Ours has been drifting a little bit, for the last ten games."

That could be it, sure. Maybe all Utah need is a little soul searching, something to sharpen its focus. They are certainly talented. Williams is in the rarified air of great point guards, a perfect blend of size, strength and skill that comes along only a handful of times in a generation. Al Jefferson (16.9 points/game) has been a consistent low post threat while Paul Millsap (17.2 points) has ably replaced the departed Carlos Boozer in the starting lineup.

But there are flaws there, too, ones that have been exposed in recent weeks. The Jazz have replaced Boozer's production, but still lack the overall consistency he brought last season. Utah is the second-highest scoring team in the league in the fourth quarter (26.8 points) but the second lowest in the first (23.0). They replaced Wesley Matthews, Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer with Raja Bell and first-round pick Gordon Hayward while jacking up Andrei Kirilenko's minutes. And they are still working in Mehmet Okur, who returned to the lineup last month for the first time since tearing his Achilles' tendon in the 2010 playoffs.

...

The Jazz do have the flexibility to upgrade. They have expiring contracts in Ronnie Price, Earl Watson and Francisco Elson and along with Kirilenko's whopping $17.8 million salary that runs out at the end of the season. But multiple executives from opposing teams say Utah hasn't been aggressively pursuing deals, even with a big chip like Kirilenko to play.

It would behoove the Jazz to take a proactive posture, if for no other reason than to satisfy Williams' desire to win. Williams is expected to be a part of the ballyhooed free-agent class of 2012, joining Chris Paul and Dwight Howard on the open market. Williams has never made any trade demands, never indicated he was unhappy with the team. But with bigger markets beckoning and the idea of creating super teams suddenly en vogue, aggressively acquiring talent might be the only way smaller market teams can compete.

That's all Williams wants, really. The stress of Utah's inconsistent season has clearly taken its toll. In the first quarter he barked at Jefferson when Jefferson botched a play. In the third quarter Williams wrapped up Kevin Garnett in the paint, picking up a crucial fourth foul. He looked over at the bench, arms extended wide, visible frustration on his face. When a reporter asked Williams if a lineup change could help, Williams remarked, "it's never been one of [Sloan's] characteristics to change anything." When asked if he thought it would help, Williams shrugged and deadpanned, "It is what it is."

When the interview ended, Williams retreated back into his locker, the perplexed look returning to his face. The problems are right in front of him, the solutions seemingly so far away.
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Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...1/22/struggling.jazz/index.html#ixzz1ByfP1u48

Nobody Asked Me, But ...

What's Deron Williams thinking these days?

I hate to do this to my friends in the 801, but there's no point in sugarcoating it. When this Carmelo business is done, you're on the clock, Utah.

Deron Williams ain't especially happy, and as every NBA fan should know by now, an unhappy star makes for a vulnerable team in the Age of LeBron.

"It should be happening by now," Williams said last week. "We've just got to figure it out. We can't just come out and expect teams to give us games."

The "it" in Williams' mind is the maddening inconsistency of the Jazz, culminating in Utah's 0-fer road trip, including bad losses at Washington and New Jersey. You can usually set your watch by Utah's defense and its offensive efficiency under Jerry Sloan, but this season the Jazz has been all over the place, falling behind by double digits a dozen times in the first two months of the season.

That Utah came back to win most of those games made a great story, and as late as last Monday the Jazz were tied for first in the Northwest. (They're 1 1/2 games behind the Thunder for the division lead now). But Utah hasn't been the defensive stopper of years past (the Jazz are 17th in points allowed) and they don't bludgeon opponents on the glass (24th in rebound differential, getting outboarded by 2.16 rebounds per game). Nor has Utah been next to unbeatable at Energy Solutions Arena (they're 15-7 there this season after going 32-9 at home last season).

"We've had some games where we've had some miracles happen and we came back and won them," Williams said. "We can't rely on that game after game. We have to find some consistency. We have to find a way to be tougher mentally and get out and put teams away early. We can't let teams build confidence on us early and get their confidence going, because any team in the league can beat you when they do that ...we've struggled on defense at times; we've struggled offensively at times; we've played great offensively at times, we've played defensively at times."

But Williams is also disappointed at the parade of talent out of Salt Lake City.

He made no secret of his displeasure last year when the Jazz traded Ronnie Brewer to the Grizzlies for a first-round pick, and he lamented the imminent departure of Carlos Boozer to free agency. And when Kyle Korver followed Boozer to Chicago, and the Jazz didn't match Portland's offer sheet for undrafted rookie Wes Matthews, Williams wasn't the only one worried that Utah's talent drain couldn't be overcome.

Utah's great general manager, Kevin O'Connor, salvaged the situation as well as could be expected, trading for power forward Al Jefferson and signing free agent guards Raja Bell and Earl Watson. But is Utah better, or running in place in the ultra-competitive West?

Williams was happy with the moves.

"I was excited, 'cause it got a little scary there," Williams said. "We lost Wes, we lost Kyle, we lost Booze, and it was like, 'What are we going to do?' And we bounced back and we added some good guys. We added Al, we added Earl, we picked up Gordon (Hayward) and Jeremy (Evans) in the Draft, and they've been two bright additions to the team. And I was pleased. We got Raj."

But is Utah as good defensively as it used to be? And does this team have the luxury of working all those new players in?

"Not really," Williams said. "My contract's up in two years. It's a now or never situation. I don't know what I'm going to do after this one."

Gulp.

Williams has not said what he will do in the summer of 2012, only that he won't have a half-hour program to announce his intentions. But he paid attention to what happened last offseason, when James, Chris Bosh and Wade teamed up and went to Miami as a package deal.

"Of course," Williams said. "You've got to. It's a different state. Guys are doing different things now. They're trying to change that with the CBA, that's for sure."

That may be Utah's biggest edge going forward. Regardless of what changes are made to the next collective bargaining agreement, it's almost a certainty that a new deal will still allow the incumbent team to pay more than other teams. It's been a hallmark of the Commish's desire to make sure that smaller markets have a chance to field competitive teams. And Williams will give the Jazz every chance to improve the roster further between now and '12.

But the clock is ticking, as of right now.

"It's not surprising on the road," Williams said. "We've had that problem before on the road. Our record is a lot better this year. But it's surprising at home. We still haven't figured out what's going on. We're at the halfway point now. It should have happened weeks ago, months ago. But it is what it is."
Click to expand...

http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/david_aldridge/01/24/morning.tip/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1

#1 J.R., Jan 24, 2011

javal_lon Member

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yeah buddy...I've been tellin folks he comin back to Texas in 2 years...Either Dallas or H-Town....Dude just wants to win....

#2 javal_lon, Jan 24, 2011
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javal_lon said:

yeah buddy...I've been tellin folks he comin back to Texas in 2 years...Either Dallas or H-Town....Dude just wants to win....
Click to expand...

lulz were not winning tho i wish he came to houston tho

#3 Pull_Up_3, Jan 24, 2011
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D-Will in a Rockets uniform.....please.

#4 RocketMania1991, Jan 24, 2011
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javal_lon said:

yeah buddy...I've been tellin folks he comin back to Texas in 2 years...Either Dallas or H-Town....Dude just wants to win....
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So why would he come to h-town?

Seriously though, he needs to stop sounding like he plays for the cavs. They lost 3 in a row. Sometimes, sometimes losing 3 in a row is just losing 3 in a row. I hate the Jazz and now hate them even more for claiming to need a lil "soul searching" after losing 3 in a row. Maybe they should man-up and pay the refs just like they always do.

#5 Qball, Jan 24, 2011
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I look at Williams and I think, at this state in his career he should be better than Dirk. I look at their personnel. Not too shabby. They should be better than they are and probably will be by the time the playoffs roll around. But its up to him to carry them when that time comes.

#6 Ziggy, Jan 24, 2011
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With or without D-Will, the Jazz franchise will be in trouble when Sloan leaves. Wouldn't be surprised if it fell off a cliff completely.

I think they can have a very good season if Okur rounds into form. They could make the 2nd round or even the conference finals.

#7 A_3PO, Jan 24, 2011

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I think this was a guy that could have been on the rockets radar had they not traded for AJ. Deron was already getting frustrated then with Boozer's departure, but once they got AJ he decided to give it a try.

#8 RV6, Jan 24, 2011
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This is from a couple days ago... They've lost to Philidelphia since...

And with a 4 game losing streak, they've lost to the Wizards, Nets, Boston, and 76'ers... With San Antonio and Lakers next.

#9 BasketballMind, Jan 24, 2011
Last edited: Jan 24, 2011
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Thats good, it's about time for them "The Jazz" to fall out of sight! :grin:

#10 bpbkforlife, Jan 24, 2011
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Sounds like Charles Barkley is kind of blaming Williams for not being a leader on Utah.

He said that is why Derrick Rose is the best PG in the NBA over Williams.

#11 Shaud, Jan 24, 2011
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Maybe he will demand a trade to be with Griffin
or take his talents to NY

Rocket River

#12 Rocket River, Jan 24, 2011
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Rocket River said:

Maybe he will demand a trade to be with Griffin
or take his talents to NY

Rocket River
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Maybe to Houston to be with ???
One can only wish.

#13 tmactoyao, Jan 24, 2011

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Why would he want to come to Houston....so that he can lose some more?

We stink, no allstar/superstar wants to come here

#14 amaru, Jan 24, 2011
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I'm getting damn sick of players "choosing" where they want to go. It kills basketball for the common city-based fan.

I would like the new CBA to limit player movement significantly.

Every market should be able to keep their star players without continually worrying about them wanting to bolt.

Life is tough. Winning is hard. Get your damn head on straight and work for something in life. Don't just ask for it to be handed to you.

i'm looking at you Lebron - Carmelo - Wade - Bosh - Rubio

#15 studogg, Jan 24, 2011
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studogg said:

I'm getting damn sick of players "choosing" where they want to go. It kills basketball for the common city-based fan.

I would like the new CBA to limit player movement significantly.

Every market should be able to keep their star players without continually worrying about them wanting to bolt.

Life is tough. Winning is hard. Get your damn head on straight and work for something in life. Don't just ask for it to be handed to you.

i'm looking at you Lebron - Carmelo - Wade - Bosh - Rubio
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How is the CBA suppose to limit that?? Teams dont have to accomodate the player, they can just keep him. That's how you're suppose to limit it, but it doesnt really happen. Only way to "fix" this, or just make it fair really, is to do away with guaranteed deals, but that won't happen.

#16 RV6, Jan 24, 2011
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RV6 said:

How is the CBA suppose to limit that?? Teams dont have to accomodate the player, they can just keep him. That's how you're suppose to limit it, but it doesnt really happen. Only way to "fix" this, or just make it fair really, is to do away with guaranteed deals, but that won't happen.
Click to expand...

The CBA could easily limit movement just like the NFL does with a "franchise" tag.

#17 A_3PO, Jan 24, 2011
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studogg said:

I'm getting damn sick of players "choosing" where they want to go. It kills basketball for the common city-based fan.

I would like the new CBA to limit player movement significantly.

Every market should be able to keep their star players without continually worrying about them wanting to bolt.

Life is tough. Winning is hard. Get your damn head on straight and work for something in life. Don't just ask for it to be handed to you.

i'm looking at you Lebron - Carmelo - Wade - Bosh - Rubio
Click to expand...

So you can't decide where you want to work in anymore? What is this, communist china?

NBA players should be allowed to sign contracts with whichever teams they want to.

#18 roslolian, Jan 24, 2011

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On a somewhat related note, I think the best course for the CBA is that rather than putting a franchise tag on players you limit the amount teams can sign a player as a free agent. Putting a franchise tag will just make the NBA player unhappy and feel like he's being held hostage. Limiting the amount teams can sign a free agent on the other hand gives the player a choice between having more money or going to another team.

For example, think what would have happened if NBA teams can only sign FAs to a maximum of 11M a year. Cleveland and Toronto could have stuck to their guns and said they wouldn't trade LBJ and Bosh to Miami and settle for just a trade exception since they knew Bosh and LBJ would be giving up serious cash if they didn't play ball and just signed up with Miami outright. I'm pretty sure Melo wouldn't talk about leaving Denver after the season when he can only sign an 11M contract with the Knicks.

#19 roslolian, Jan 24, 2011
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A_3PO said:

The CBA could easily limit movement just like the NFL does with a "franchise" tag.
Click to expand...

Not really. Does the tag change their feelings? I dont think the issue is guys leaving as free agents. That's just the way things work and they're entitled to leaving once their contract is up. I think the issue fans have is players asking to be traded before their contract is up. That issue won'tbe fixed by the franchise tag. Players will still complain, ask out, and teams will continue to accomodate their trade requests like they've been doing.

#20 RV6, Jan 24, 2011

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