Could Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams, who’s sat through training camp and the beginning of preseason as he rests his sprained ankle, miss the beginning of the season? It’s unlikely, but coach Jason Kidd opened a sliver of possibility that Williams could sit out the team’s opener before Saturday night’s preseason matchup against the Detroit Pistons.
When asked about Williams’s health and the possibility of starting the season without him, Kidd was non-committal. “We’re not rushing him. So if we have to start the season with him still trying to get better, I think we all feel comfortable, but we would feel a little bit more comfortable if he was starting.”
Kidd added that there had been “no setback” with Williams’s ankle, which was injured during an offseason workout in Utah. Williams has continued to train with the team’s training staff and has done non-contact portions of team practice.
“”This is going to be a question that we’re probably going to have to deal with every day until he does get the green light to go,” Kidd said.
“Right now we are playing with the guys that are dressed, and he is a day-by-day situation. If he is ready to go, he will play.”
It seemed from Kidd’s tone that he didn’t expect Williams to be out, but that he was merely working with the players he has available at this moment, and that Williams may be playing “catch-up” when the team starts the regular season on October 30th against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Williams told ESPN New York before Saturday’s preseason matchup that he would miss three preseason games, marking his next potential return as October 17th. Barring a setback, he should be fine for opening day.
