2MSN.net

I don’t usually tackle sports headlines that MSN usually posts, but I thought this one interesting. Apparently the New Jersey Nets are close to making a trade for Utah’s All-Star guard, Deron Williams. The big news to me isn’t that they didn’t get Carmello. That boy was going nowhere else than to the Knicks, that much was apparent. The interesting thing about this story is what is happening to the Jazz during the aftermath of Jerry Sloan’s departure.

A little less than a month ago, the Hall of Fame coach, Jerry Sloan stepped down from the Jazz organization. It happened the same night as the Jazz’s heartbreak loss to the Bulls (ironically the team who kept the Jazz from winning two straight championships). Apparently, there had been a shouting match between Deron Williams and the coach during halftime. The next day, Sloan resigned.

At a press conference, Sloan did his best not to pin the blame on any player. Instead he claimed his energy level wasn’t where it used to be and that it was time to move on. But after remarks from Karl Malone saying that the coach he knew would never quit, some fans began to wonder just how much a part Deron played in the coach’s sudden departure.

The fans are suspicious and I think Deron feels it. He may be getting a ton of hate mail from die-hard Jerry fans as well. I think he feels like he’s under a magnifying glass. He’s starting to see that his All-Star talent and rising star status doesn’t mean as much to Salt Lake as Jerry did. Many people will probably defend D-Will saying that he just wants to win. Well if that’s true, why’s he going to the Nets? The Jazz haven’t had the most success as of late, but they haven’t lost 40 games. It seems that reasons are mostly to get away from the scrutiny.

In the trade the Jazz will receive Derrick Favors, a 6’11” forward/center averaging around 6 points and 5 rebounds a game, and Devin Harris, a 6’3” guard averaging 15 points and about 8 assists a game.