30 richest players in the NBA
By John Buhler
Deron Williams
Point Guard, Dallas Mavericks
Though he has rapidly declined over the last few years as a starting point guard, it isn’t much of a surprise that Deron Williams of the Dallas Mavericks comes in at No. 15 as one of the richest active players in the NBA. In his 12-year NBA career, Williams has earned $142,651,267.
Williams came into the league as the No. 3 overall pick by the Utah Jazz in the 2005 NBA Draft. He signed a two-year deal worth $7.24 million out of Illinois. Utah would then offer its team options on him the next two seasons, worth $4.01 and $5.2 million, respectively.
In July 2008, Williams would get his first big NBA contract. He would ink a four-year $70 million extension with the Jazz. Williams would play out the first two and a half years of that deal with the Jazz before being traded to the then-New Jersey Nets.
In June 2012, Williams would opt out of the final year of his contract with the Nets to hit unrestricted free agency. A month later, Williams would sign a new five-year deal worth $98.77 million. Not long after signing the multi-year extension with the Nets, Williams’ health and overall skill set would start to decline.
He would eventually be waived by the Nets in summer 2015, getting a $27.5 million buyout. Later that week, Williams would sign a two-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks worth $11 million. He would opt out of the second year of that deal to ultimately sign a one-year deal with the Mavericks worth $10 million.
Overall, Williams has certainly gotten the most out of his basketball abilities. Most of his wealth came from the rookie extension with the Jazz and the incompetency of the Nets organization. If he stayed healthy, Williams could have been an amazing player. He had all-time talent and definitely cashed in on it.