Brooklyn appears to be creating distance from Dallas during the home stretch of the Deron Williams pursuit

With only a few days left before the start of free agency, rumors surrounding the crown jewel of the free agent class are swirling. Luckily for the Nets, most of them appear to favor the home team. Reports have surfaced about Dallas’s confidence plummeting while their worry skyrockets. Suddenly, they don’t like their chances too much. They are not alone, numerous NBA writers from around the country have begun predicting Brooklyn as the winner of this D-Will sweepstakes. Most notable among them is ESPN’s Chris Broussard, who many believe to be a source close to Deron Williams. Broussard also mentioned that Williams has no intentions of meeting with any teams once free agency begins. Sounds like he has enough information to make his decision already.

Deron has yielded a few positive signs lately, himself. He has been working out at the Nets facilities almost daily. Many times he has worked one-on-one with Nets coach Avery Johnson, the two even discuss strategy for next season. To give you an idea of how close these two are, Avery Johnson was among the eight individuals who joined Deron Williams in celebrating his 28th birthday this week. Nets GM Billy King was also invited but was unable to attend. I don’t suppose Jerry Sloan would’ve been invited if he and D-Will never split up back in Utah. The star point guard has clearly developed a close bond with his new franchise.

This decision is going to come down to whatever is best for him and his family. His wife, Amy, is not shy about her love for New York City. She has often posted pictures to her instagram account of the city skyline at night, usually with a caption like “I can never get enough of this view.” I think his family has responded to their new city in a very positive way. It isn’t much of a secret that Deron Williams is not a flashy guy who constantly needs to be the center of attention. He doesn’t like to be bothered and irritated with people looking to get something out of him. He can’t stand the constant free agency questions, or people telling him where he should go and why. This is why he’s such a great fit for New York. After the Nets acquired him, some people thought the Nets plan could backfire if they assumed that he was looking to be a huge superstar in the biggest media market in the world. They warned that he is a guy who values his privacy, and that the media attention in New York may end up driving him right out the door and into Mark Cuban’s arms. It appears as though the opposite has occurred. In New York City, Deron can walk up and down the streets with his family without being hassled by mobs of people. The city is so massive that he can pass through it largely unnoticed. In Dallas, every person who has a friend of a friend of Deron’s second cousin is going to be trying to exploit that connection, no matter how irrelevant it is. They are going to have their hands out for tickets every single game. Everyone’s going to want a piece of the pie, this is exactly the reason why Jason Kidd has never wanted to play for his home town Golden State Warriors.

All we can really do now is wait and hope to see some more signs, like Deron popping in on a Billy King media session with a smile on his face, to help make this final home stretch before free agency a little more bearable. Let’s all hope that the most important offseason of the past decade plays out in our favor. If any fan base could use a win, it’s this one.