Thursday, October 25th, 2012 at 12:00 pm  |  181 responses

Top 50: Deron Williams, no. 7

The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players for ’12-13.

by Adam Figman / @afigman

I like this Top 50 thing that we do because it feels like such a fresh start; all of the rankings are performance predictions for the upcoming season, so mild hiccups and set backs in previous years should have little effect on where the players who experienced ‘em are placed on this list, as long as we believe said hiccups/set backs are stuck in the past. What’s to come is all that matters.

And Deron Williams is kind of the posterboy for this mindset, no? If there’s anyone we’re supposed to remove from the context of his last couple of basketball-playing years and judge from a completely blank canvas, it’s DWill. Think about all that’s going to be different between ’11-12 and ’12-13 for this guy: New teammates (hello, Joe Johnson, CJ Watson, Mirza Teletovic, Josh Childress, Andray Blatche, Jerry Stackhouse and a full year with Gerald Wallace). Healthy teammates (hello, Bropez). New contract (hello, $$$). New stadium (what up, Brooklyn?).

It’s almost like Kanye and Rhymefest made that one song way back when about Deron Williams’ summer of 2012.

That’s just a convoluted way of saying that this guy is finally getting a new beginning. And with a new beginning will come an enhanced spotlight, and with an enhanced spotlight will come a renewed conversation about what he’s actually capable of on the court, in comparison with his esteemed peers. Which is where we come in.

Williams has had his moments of slightly sustained greatness, taking those late-’00s Utah Jazz squads to the postseason and assisting Team USA during a pair of Gold medal runs. But as of the past couple of years any true greatness—that unbelievable, unforeseeable, OMG wow how is he that fucking good at basketball greatness—has come in very short bursts. A 57-point frenzy here. A 38-point, 8 three-pointer barrage against a helpless Jeremy Lin there. Some insane 4-point plays. Couple of game-winners. A few ridiculous dishes to unsuspecting and occasionally incompetent teammates.

But what we expect from NBA superstars, especially those that get slotted in at points like this (and higher) on lists like this, is firmly sustained greatness. Leading deep Playoff runs; MVP consideration; scoring titles; Defensive Player of the Year awards; Championships. Basically, it’s the ability to say, “Man, _____ is unreal” during bball-focused conversations with friends or strangers, with zero context needed, because it’s that true—and it’s a fact that’s jumping off the television screen every time he’s on it.

It’ll be tough for Williams to jump into that category, if only because the Texas native’s game doesn’t exactly call for that form of fan love. How many people, Nets fans excluded, do you know consider Deron Williams the hands-down best point guard in the game? Certainly a few, but surely not many. He doesn’t have Derrick Rose’s explosiveness, Rajon Rondo’s fiery all-over prowess, Chris Paul’s ability to use every ounce of open space to his advantage or Russell Westbrook’s raw power. Nothing leaps out. But to a degree, he has all of those things, and he has them all at a high enough level that on any given night you might want him on your side over any of the aforementioned names. Lots of nights, actually. He has no tangible weaknesses, at least none that I know of. He’s like the Toyota Camry of amazing point guards, and I promise that was compliment. (The “amazing” part was really important.)

Anyway, look: his placement here, at number seven, makes sense. There probably wouldn’t have been much of an outrage if Williams was slotted a couple spots lower, and there’s probably an argument that could be made that the 6-3 PG is deserving of a position one or two notches higher up.

Seven works, though. He’s sitting above your average All-Star—typing that felt really weird—and beneath the NBA’s uppermost tier. And he’s young enough (at 28) where a great season may push his name up this list next year. No more massive losing streaks, no more pouting. He won’t have a monster statistical jump (seriously, look how consistent these numbers are from year to year; a sudden increase across the board seems unlikely), but it’ll be about what Williams is capable of doing to the franchise’s win column and subsequent postseason run with a whole bunch of new…everything. Here’s guessing a lot.

And here’s to a clean slate.


Where should Deron Williams rank in the SLAMonline Top 50?

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SLAMonline Top 50 Players 2012
Rank Player Team Position Pos. Rank
50 Greg Monroe Pistons C 8
49 Tyreke Evans Kings PG 14
48 Brandon Jennings Bucks PG 13
47 Stephen Curry Warriors PG 12
46 Ricky Rubio TWolves PG 11
45 Al Jefferson Jazz PF 14
44 Anthony Davis Hornets PF 13
43 Serge Ibaka Thunder PF 12
42 Al Horford Hawks C 7
41 Ty Lawson Nuggets PG 10
40 Danny Granger Pacers SF 6
39 Tim Duncan Spurs PF 11
38 John Wall Wizards PG 9
37 Monta Ellis Bucks SG 8
36 Zach Randolph Grizzlies PF 10
35 Roy Hibbert Pacers C 6
34 Tyson Chandler Knicks C 5
33 Eric Gordon Hornets SG 7
32 Kevin Garnett Celtics PF 9
31 Manu Ginobili Spurs SG 6
30 Amar’e Stoudemire Knicks PF 8
29 Marc Gasol Grizzlies C 4
28 DeMarcus Cousins Kings C 3
27 Paul Pierce Celtics SF 5
26 Andre Iguodala Nuggets SG 5
25 Rudy Gay Grizzlies SF 4
24 Josh Smith Hawks PF 7
23 Derrick Rose Bulls PG 8
22 Joe Johnson Nets SG 4
21 Steve Nash Lakers PG 7
20 James Harden Thunder SG 3
19 Pau Gasol Lakers PF 6
18 Chris Bosh Heat PF 5
17 Kyrie Irving Cavs PG 6
16 LaMarcus Aldridge Blazers PF 4
15 Tony Parker Spurs PG 5
14 Dirk Nowitzki Mavs PF 3
13 Andrew Bynum Sixers C 2
12 Blake Griffin Clippers PF 2
11 Kevin Love TWolves PF 1
10 Carmelo Anthony Knicks SF 3
9 Russell Westbrook Thunder PG 4
8 Rajon Rondo Celtics PG 3
7 Deron Williams Nets PG 2

Notes
• Rankings are based solely on projected ’12-13 performance.
• Contributors to this list include: Jake Appleman, Maurice Bobb, Rodger Bohn, Brendan Bowers, Franklyn Calle, David Cassilo, Bryan Crawford, Adam Figman, Eldon Khorshidi, Eddie Maisonet III, Ryne Nelson, Ben Osborne, Allen Powell II, Sam Rubenstein, Jonathan Santiago, Abe Schwadron, Leo Sepkowitz, Dave Spahn, Ben Taylor, Tzvi Twersky, Peter Walsh, Tracy Weissenberg, Yaron Weitzman, DeMarco Williams and Dave Zirin.
• Want more of the SLAMonline Top 50? Check out the archive.

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  • Drig

    @disqus_rOeXXBD2qs:disqus ………..Respect. Even if I don’t agree with you about Lakers, you do always provide the most damning counter proofs…..You and caboose :

  • north

    If Deron was a player with high basketball IQ he would have supported Sloan’s system and Utah would be/been the best team in the West. He’s a gunner, albeit a good one, but his attitude (yes not trying to play defense at all last year and jacking up shots like Jennings on the Bucks) lowers him down a few spots. He’s a good player who needs to be the “guy” on a team to be happy. JJ wanting the ball at the end of the clock is going to burn into Williams just wait and see.

  • Max

    The Kobe-Dwade boms exploded one day to early.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    appreciate it man.

  • http://twitter.com/AjpDos Allen Powell

    DRose gets Utah East and all we here is how he has to carry an untalented team. Deron gets the same players or worse and he should be grateful. Come on now.

  • justin05

    My original point was that Wade would be next. These rankings are based on predictions for the upcoming season so I said that Kobe would outperform Wade, that is how this top 50 works. At this point it is too difficult to decide who is really “better”. The writers for Slam know more about basketball than you pal. We can agree to disagree about the Wade vs. Kobe discussion because we obviously see the game of basketball differently. Slam’s decision won’t change your opinion but if Wade is ahead of Kobe then I’ll admit I’ve been wrong this whole time. Whoever runs Slam doesn’t just pick these writers off the street. This is obviously a very difficult decision for them so they are making sure they do their best to get it right. Show some respect.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    Just because people write for a magazine doesn’t mean they are experts in the sport. And it is a publication that has to grab readers. idk if you realize this or not (i assume you do) but Kobe Bryant draws more attention than Dwyane Wade. The fact remains, Kobe hasn’t outperformed Wade in years, and is only getting older. No matter how SLAM puts them in the rankings, logically, there is no reason to expect Kobe to improve at this point. And to be better than Wade, he will have to. Or Wade will have to get hurt. — And i believe i show SLAM as much respect as any person possibly could. It’s not disrespectful to disagree, it would be disrespectful to call them stupid or tell them they shouldn’t be respected. But i’m not doing that, and i don’t feel that way. I understand the nature of the business….and you should understand the nature of the comment section.

  • shockexchange

    No resistance from me. How the Shock Exchange remembers it, DWill wanted more say so about the O and other matters. It got to the point where Sloan felt he may have needed to step aside in order to appease DWill. I find it hard to believe that over the course of about six weeks the two could not co-exist simply because DWill did not like the O.
    Which begs the question: How’d he like the O with the Nets the past few years?

  • shockexchange

    Clearly DWill needed more talent in Utah to help make that team a title contender. But he had some special years with the Jazz and the Shock Exchange questions if he will ever reach that level of professional success again. Like the Shock Exchange always says, “Hindsight is 20/20.”

  • justin05

    I agree with you, basketball IQ is very complex. How many of you guys can actually ball though? Seriously, I’m not trying to be arrogant or rude but when you know how to play the game you see it a little differently. I don’t base my opinion from a fan’s point of view. You are intelligent Caboose, I respect you for that because there is more to life than basketball. We are about the same age and I can tell, based on how you write, that you are better academically than myself. However, you focus more on statistics and just because you are good with words and numbers doesn’t mean your views are any more correct than someone else’s. If anything, based on your comments, I can see that you really don’t know the game from a players view. It’s all about researching stats with guys like yourself and byanymeans. It is plainly obvious that you do not like the Lakers or Kobe (especially after Howard was traded to LA) so like I said to nbk, we will just have to agree to disagree. Our views are on opposite sides of the spectrum. My original point was that Wade will be next because Kobe will outperform him. Slam will decide who is right, they are having a helluva time figuring it out. You may not want to believe it, but they know more about basketball then both of us. I actually think it may be Kobe at no. 6 because of how long it is taking Slam. Who knows, maybe our debate has influenced them, I won’t admit I’m wrong until I see it though.

  • justin05

    I would say Dirk was the better player in the playoffs and what really matters in the NBA? The playoffs lol. At the end of the day, all these players really want is the Championship ring (the fame that goes with it doesn’t hurt either lol) The best players and best team will be competing for a ring at the end of the year.

  • justin05

    It’s not all about statistics and highlight reels homie

  • LakeShow

    Explaining basketball IQ is like explaining the 6th sense.
    .
    .
    .
    LOL at “Kobe’s facts don’t look that great.”
    Did AI’s stats not look that great? Give the guy a fukcing break he had one below average shooting season.

  • LakeShow

    lol, i’m getting schooled.

  • http://twitter.com/AjpDos Allen Powell

    I see him in the ECF this year or next year. After that it’s iffy, but in one of the next two years, barring injuries, they make the ECF.
    Utah traded Deron because they didn’t think they could re-sign him without making huge salary investments that they didn’t want to make. Look at their roster and spending history. If they thought Deron would have played the good soldier while surrounded by poor talent and cheap talent, they would have never traded him. They knew he was going to be unhappy and cause a stink, rightfully so.

  • LakeShow

    Don’t you realize that this is the difference…
    - You see numbers and stats.
    - I see performance and intangibles.
    What would be the point in explaining to you why I think something? That’s how I think, not how you should think. I’m not trying to convince anyone. Kobe has been there and done it more times than Wade and that’s why I think he will get things done when it matters most. Point blank period.
    So just consider me a jealous, or zealous, or whatever, stan boy, fan boy, I don’t really care at all… Kobe will get sh*t done over Wade. If he takes more stupid shots over a season that’s fine with me. If that’s not fine with you then that’s fine with me.
    I’m sure this answer was very satisfying for you :)

  • LakeShow

    You gave no “proof”.
    You gave numbers.
    Some of which favor Bryant or are equal to Bryant.
    Thus; thine hypothesis of said “onus” is not on one LakeShow, it is doth mulled via my convoluted hyper-symbiosis, of the pragmatic discipline you your self laid before me.
    Whaaa chaaaaaa! – Bruce Lee voice

  • http://twitter.com/AjpDos Allen Powell

    The talent Nash had, plus the system they ran was lightyears ahead of what Deron had. For example, which player on New Jersey’s roster for most of the year was better than Grant Hill? Marcin Gortat? Hell, even Jared Dudley would have been a starter for the Nets and getting big minutes. The comparison doesn’t work.

  • http://twitter.com/AjpDos Allen Powell

    NBK using the 30 and 10 statistic I used to throw around back in the day. I challenge all the Williams doubters to check out his game logs from his last season in Utah. It’s crazy what he was doing on that squad before he injured his wrists. His shooting percentage and attitude where horrible in Jersey, but cats are sleeping.

  • http://twitter.com/AjpDos Allen Powell

    Jason Kidd played with three top ten draft choices, including the number one overall pick in a young Kenyon Martin. He also had Kerry Kittles, Keith Van Horn and Richard Jefferson. Not to mention solid reserves like Lucious Harris.
    The team played uptempo–always a plus when you have a great point guard and young players–and played good defense. It was not a collection of bums. check the stats again folks

  • http://twitter.com/AjpDos Allen Powell

    nash has never played with less talent than Deron Williams in his entire career. That is a complete lie. Go roster by roster, and every year Nash has had more talent. You just pulled that factoid out of your anus.

  • shockexchange

    Let’s keep it all the way one hunnert. If the Nets make the ECF, it won’t be a testament to DWill or the Nets, but a testament to how weak the Eastern Conference is. That Jazz team was one elite player and key role player away from being able to contend for a title. With Sloan, team chemistry, selfless play and DWill balling out, it’s hard to recreate that. However, if Utah did not want to spend the money to improve that team then my argument is a moot point.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    Cats seem to be in a coma

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    well i appreciate that.

  • Caboose

    And what I’m saying is, your way of thinking is brilliant for you because there is NOTHING substantial for you to back up your claim. You can say whatever the hell you want and back it up under the cover of “performance.” Watch this: “Greg Monroe is the best big man at passing out of the post. I know because I’ve seen him and he has a natural feel for it, great vision, and did it all throughout college.” There is NOTHING that can be said to support that other than your own subjectives. What you believe is based on nothing but what you can see and judge for yourself instead of what objective evaluation can tell you. In the business, we call that faulty logic. I call it an invalid argument.

  • http://twitter.com/AjpDos Allen Powell

    Caboose my man. Nice work buddy, nice work indeed.

  • http://twitter.com/AjpDos Allen Powell

    This isn’t the only subject where homie takes that tact. Just saying.

  • Caboose

    Good to see you around here Allen. Don’t read the Wade article…nothing but chaos in there.

  • gg

    shoulda just said hello brooklyn

  • Dagger

    I’m not sure how the first part of your response is relevant; I was just saying that his coach and system are different now, which can impact performance. Any change requires adjustment, which can influence a player’s confidence. Regardless, obviously Sloan is as synonymous with the pick and roll as Tex Winter is with the triangle offense. Avery Johnson’s offensive schemes may help Deron excel this season (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1321259-why-avery-johnson-is-the-perfect-coach-for-the-brooklyn-nets-in-2012), but we’ll have to see. And look, Deron also had more turnovers than he’s ever had, fewer rebounds than he’s had since ’08-’09, and his winshares collapsed. Nobody’s saying his season was horrible, but it wasn’t up to the standards of a top-7 player, period.

    Either way I’m sure Deron will be great this year, but I’m not sure he’ll have a more productive season than, say, Westbrook, in part because I’m not totally sold on his new teammates and last season gave me some doubts. These are hardly controversial points – it’s not like I’m saying he’s garbage – but apparently you feel the need to be patronizing. If you want a respectful debate with someone, even through the anonymity of the internet, you may want to gain a little humility and a little civility.

  • cncaliguy

    Total Crap considering he shot 40% ball and team didn’t make playoffs. He’s not a true franchise or superstar player. CP3 has been proven to be a better leader and veteran. DRose proved he’s vital to his team success. I even think Rondo is more important to Celtics than Deron because of Rondo’s rebounding and defense.

    I would rate LBJ ,Wade, Durant, Love, Kobe, Aldridge, and Howard above Deron and some people have Melo up there but I hate Melo. Deron is outside the top 10 for sure.

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