Utah Jazz trade Deron Williams to New Jersey Nets

After losing out on the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, the New Jersey Nets have traded for a superstar of their own.

The Nets have acquired PG Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz in a five-player deal. In the trade New Jersey sent PG Devin Harris, PF Derrick Favors, the #3 overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, two first round draft picks, and $3 million cash to Utah.

The Nets have also completed a separate trade with the Golden State Warriors that sends PF Troy Murphy and a second round draft pick to Golden State for forward Brandan Wright and center Dan Gadzuric.  For more on that trade, visit: http://thenickelblock.com/?p=5662

The move for Williams seemingly came out of nowhere but negotiations were put in motion after the Carmelo Anthony saga ended.  Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and general manager Billy King have been seeking a star player since last summer to help promote the team as they get set to move to Brooklyn before the 2012 season.

Deron Williams has been traded to New Jersey

Reports came out over All Star Weekend that Williams was dead set on leaving the Jazz and likely playing for the New York Knicks when he became an unrestricted free  agent after next season.  However with a year and a half remaining on his current contract, Prokhorov swept in and traded for the star point guard.

The two-time All-Star point guard has been unhappy with the Jazz and had a falling out with long-time head coach Jerry Sloan.  Williams played an instrumental role in the longest-tenured coach in professional sports abruptly retiring earlier in the month.

Williams was averaging 21.3 points and 9.7 assists per game with the Jazz this season.

There are no reports of a contract extension between Williams and the Nets at this time.

Harris has been rumored on the trading block since last season and will finally leave New Jersey.  After a promising start to his career in Dallas, the point guard out of Wisconsin enjoyed an All-Star campaign in his first full season with the Nets averaging 21.3 points and 6.9 assists during the 2008-2009 season. However Harris’ time soured in New Jersey and he demanded a trade out of town this past week. He had been rumored to go to either the Portland Trailblazers or Dallas Mavericks before ultimately being traded to Utah. The 6-year veteran is is averaging 15.0 points and 7.6 assists this season.

Favors, who was the centerpiece of the Nets’ proposal for Carmelo Anthony, was the third overall pick in the past NBA draft. The 19-year old rookie is averaging 6.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game this season.

The two first-round draft picks included by New Jersey are their 2011 first rounder and Golden State’s 2012 first round pick. The 2012 pick is top seven protected.