Deron talks free agency, Dwight, more with Marc Spears

“People get traded all the time,” Williams told Yahoo! Sports. “They don’t get backlash as an organization. If [players] leave, we are not loyal, we are ungrateful. People say stuff to me on Twitter. They already think I’m gone. They are out there bashing me, saying to me I’m a traitor.

“I didn’t ask to be here. I got traded. I didn’t come here being a free agent. This is the first time that I’m a free agent in my career.”

He “probably” would have re-signed if the Nets had dealt for the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard before the March 15 trade deadline. While Howard was intrigued by New Jersey, the NBA’s most dominant center ultimately opted in to his contract for at minimum next season with the Magic.

“It’s a decision he made for himself,” Williams said. “I really have no comment on it. He did what was best for him. I respect that. I’m still friends with him.

“Oh yeah, it definitely would have changed things. I’ve already made it known that if he would have come I probably would have stayed.”

Marc Spears — Nets let Deron Williams play ‘assistant GM,’ but it isn’t enough to keep him from free agency