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NBA Rumors: Nets want to trade or release Deron Williams, Joe Johnson

By Josh Hill

Dec 12, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams (8) moves the ball during the third quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center. Brooklyn Nets won 88-70. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 12, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams (8) moves the ball during the third quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center. Brooklyn Nets won 88-70. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Brooklyn Nets are out of the postseason, out of first-round picks and out of money — which is a terrible way to begin the offseason. 

The Brooklyn Nets are basically the most hopeless franchise in professional sports. Even the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one of the most hapless and dopey franchises around, have more hope than the Brooklyn Nets do. There’s no money, no draft picks and no hope for the future, which is prompting the Nets to make changes to it’s roster to salvage what they can.

According to Matt Moore of CBSSports.com, the Nets are probably going to do all they can to jettison Deron Williams and Joe Johnson this summer, which gives them cap space to offset the fact they don’t have many draft picks for the rest of the decade.

It was Robert Windrem of NetsDaily who pointed out the utter lack of draft picks the Nets have through 2020, which shows just how important it is to hang onto picks and not move them in deals for big name players. The Nets moved first-round picks to acquire both Deron Williams and Joe Johnson — both player are two that the Nets no want to get rid of and neither have brought postseason success.

You can count the number of titles that Williams and Johnson have brought the Nets on one hand. In fact, Captain Hook and Luke Skywalker can both count the number of titles the Nets have won with Williams and Johnson with their missing hands.

Zero, that’s how many.

To show for the zero titles that Brooklyn has, the Nets have hardly any first-round picks through the 2020 NBA Draft and their second-round picks aren’t looking much better. Take this summer for example, as the Nets could have had the No. 12 pick in the draft and a chance to win the lottery, but instead the Atlanta Hawks will own that pick and Brooklyn won’t pick until the No. 29 overall slot.

This was the case last year too, when the Boston Celtics took James Young with a pick that the Nets could have used if they hadn’t traded for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce — two players who weren’t on the roster for most of the 2014-15 season.

Brooklyn’s front office is a dumpster fire, and the fuel that is making the fire burn hotter is the Nets’ future. Something needs to happen in order for the Nets to turn things around, but right now relief looks like it will come in the form of stripping away the past to salvage as much of the future as possible.

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