Veteran point guard Deron Williams has reached an agreement to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks for one year and $10 million, according to ESPN's Marc Stein. With few options left for both sides, they elected to continue their partnership for at least one season.
Deron Williams will re-sign with Mavericks for 1 year, $10 million
Both sides realized they were each other’s best option.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Williams joined his hometown team last summer on a two-year deal after agreeing to a buyout with the Brooklyn Nets. The 32-year-old opted out of $5.6 million in 2016-17, but he expressed to ESPN's Tim MacMahon during exit interviews that he'd "love to be back," and he's gotten his wish.
Williams' days as one of the best point guards in the league are long gone, but he remains a capable player when healthy. He averaged 14 points and nearly six assists in over 32 minutes per game last season as the Mavericks reached the postseason before losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games.
Williams is still able to show those old flashes of dominance once in awhile, like when he put up 31 points and 16 assists in an key overtime victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in late March. However, those kinds of performances aren't the norm anymore as he declines.
Staying healthy has been an issue for Williams in recent years. He hasn’t reached the 70-game mark in each of the last three seasons, and he missed 17 games in 2015-16. He appeared in only three of Dallas’ five postseason games because of a sports hernia injury that required surgery.
Williams should be ready to go for next season, though, and he can help a Mavericks team looking to get past the first round for the first time since 2011. However, that Mavericks team struck out on its top free-agent targets and lost Chandler Parsons to the Grizzlies.
See More:
