While I still don’t necessarily agree with this deal (I think the Nets could have done better), now that I’m a little more levelheaded and see why this trade was done I gave some of my thoughts on the deal over at the official ESPN TrueHoop page. I’ll echo them here:
Despite his talent, Terrence Williams clearly didn’t fit this Nets team. Being in Avery Johnson’s doghouse isn’t good for anybody — just ask Troy Murphy — and the Nets certainly weren’t promoting him as an asset. His issue has always been his poor decision-making, and Houston has the right system to change that.
But for the Nets, this is clearly a set-up deal. In terms of on-the-court value, it looks like the Nets got 70 cents on the dollar, but two first-rounders and an expiring contract in Sasha Vujacic means the Nets get three trade assets for the price of one. That gives them much more flexibility when making deals for anybody, including that guy up in Denver everyone seems to be talking about so much.
The assets acquired may not be worth much — a Lakers pick late in the first round isn’t going to help many deals, and the Houston pick is lottery-protected — but if these picks are used in a deal for Carmelo Anthony, I don’t think too many fans will be complaining in the long run.
