Deron Williams: I'm not playing like an elite point guard

On Tuesday, following his poor performance against the San Antonio Spurs the night before, Deron Williams was still down on himself about how the Brooklyn Nets $100 million star was playing this season.

Tonight, Williams gets a chance to face one of the NBA's elite point guards in Thunder star Russell Westbrook but takes an inferiority complex onto the court at Chesapeake Energy Arena with him.

The word elite gets thrown around a lot in sports these days and Williams knows his play doesn't warrant that description so far this season.

"I don't think I'm playing like [an elite point guard]," Williams told The New York Post before practice Tuesday. "I think I can be. But I've just got to figure this thing out."

Williams was being honest about himself but it's hard to argue with his own assessment of his season — especially when he is compared with Westbrook.

In 30 games, Williams is averaging 16.3 points and 7.5 assists while shooting a paltry 39.9 from the field and 30.0 from three-point range.

Better than average but not elite.

Williams whined about ex-Nets head coach Avery Johnson's system hindering his play.  That is a moot point now. Johnson was fired last week and Williams is on his own.

Interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo has suggested that the pressure of being the $100 million face of the team could be contributing to Williams sub-par play.

"He is Deron Williams.  He was Deron Williams (on Monday, when he finished with eight points and two assists), and that's fine," said Carlesimo.  "Honestly, I don't want him thinking, 'I got to get 25 points, I got to get 11 assists, I got to get this, or I have to get this.' He's just gotta play"

But Williams is giving it some thought — maybe too much.

"I'm just overthinking," Williams admitted. "I've never been a player that can go out there and play and think ... I just react.  Now, it's like I come off [a screen] and I'm thinking, 'Should I shoot this? Should I not?'

"I'm just ... I'm not playing the way I should be.  That's all I mean.  It's not injuries.  It's just in my head, and I've got to get it out."

Avery Johnson's son goes on Twitter rant about dad's firing

Avery Johnson took the high road when he addressed the media Thursday after being fired by the Brooklyn Nets.  The ex-head coach claims he never saw the firing coming and said, "This is the ownership's decision.  This is what we signed up for."

Johnson's teenage son didn't take the news as well and went thumbs-out on his Twitter account to vent his anger after the news broke that his dad had been relieved of his coaching duties by owner Mikhail Prokhorov.

I'm sorry are best players couldn't make open shots. Yeah that's my dads fault totally...
— Avery Johnson Jr. (@itsaveryjohnson) December 27, 2012

The younger Johnson went on to defend his dad's reputation by tweeting:

"This is a f------Outrage.  My dad is a great coach, he just got coach of the month and they Fire him. #Smh. Completely new team he had."

Junior wasn't the only one surprised at the firing.  LeBron James echoed the son's sentiments with this tweet.

Avery got fired? He was just coach of the month wasn't he? That's like a player get Player of the Month then gets traded the next month #NBA
— LeBron James (@KingJames) December 27, 2012

"The expectations were way too high for this team.  We didn't even have a losing record... Didn't even give my dad a full season.  #OUTRAGE," Johnson Jr. continued.

His father was fired a day after the Nets fell to .500 (14-14) after an 11-4 start to begin the season.

Johnson's release comes on the heels of the Nets All-Pro Deron Williams saying he was never comfortable playing in Johnson's style of offense and insinuating that his shooting slump was because of the system.

The fact that Williams' whining and his father's canning came so close together wasn't lost on the teenage Johnson or NBA analyst Reggie Miller who tweeted:

"So will coaching change for Nets improve Deron Williams shooting percentage??"

It sounds like the ball is in Williams' court now.

Nets get acquainted with Barclays Center court

Jay-Z might have christened the Barclays Center with eight sold out concerts over the past two weeks but, on Sunday,  it was the arena's main tenants the Brooklyn Nets who got a chance to break in their new home.

It must have seemed appropriate to the Nets players that Beyonce helped her husband close his final show Saturday night because their new venue is definitely an upgrade.

The Nets practiced at the Barclays Center for the first time yesterday and had nothing but raves for the new state-of-the-art home building.  Some players even threw in a couple of back-handed parting shots at their last home court in Newark.

"I've never seen anything like it," said forward Kris Humphries.  "Everything is so much bigger and nicer than what we're used to."

That had to hurt the feelings of the Prudential Center — often blamed for the Nets miserable home court record over the past few seasons — which was dumped for the more luxurious 19,000-seat Barclays Center.  Players blamed their home losses on everything from the puny locker room to the temperature of the arena to the scant fans who showed up and rooted for the away teams.

There are no excuses anymore.

The upgrades include a spacious, modern locker room, a players lounge and an arena specifically built for the NBA players.

"It's not built for hockey, it's not built for soccer," said guard Deron Williams about the $1 billion structure.  "It's built for basketball.

"It's very comfortable. It's not a makeshift locker room like we had in Jersey."

It didn't matter to the players that they didn't even get to dribble the ball on the Nets new distinct herringbone pattern floor they will use during NBA games.  Instead they utilized the secondary floor that will be the playing surface for anyone but the primary tenants — the Nets.

"It's very important for us to get used to our home," said head coach Avery Johnson.  "We want to feel comfortable playing here on opening night."

Johnson's dry run for the team was a good opportunity for the players to check out the locker room and lounge, get used to the court's shooting sight lines and get familiar with commuting to the downtown Brooklyn arena — no easy feat by Escalade.  Even Jay-Z took the R-train to his final show.

Everything seemed perfect except one thing.  Johnson pointed out one small issue with the sunlight shining onto the court through an open entrance — a problem with afternoon games.  Even the black curtains draped over the opening didn't help.

"Once they figure out how to not let any light get in here, especially on afternoon games, that's one of the things we're going to have to make sure we take care of," said Johnson.  "But other than that, I think everything is pretty good."

It sure beats a shoebox-sized locker room in a home built for hockey out in Jersey.

Nets officially belong to Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Nets new logo was officially unveiled at an event today when merchandise for the former-New Jersey resident went on sale at a Modell's store, across Flatbush Avenue from the Barclays Center, the team's new home.

Now that the Nets' 35 year tenure in Jersey is over and Gov. Chris Christie gave the team a kick-in-the-butt as a parting gift, the team can get down to calling itself the Brooklyn Nets.

The Nets P.A. announcer kicked off the event by saying, "Helloooo Brooklyn!" before the team showed off the new logo and black-and-white team colors.  The minimalist  logo— contained in a sheild— features the word "Nets" arched over the image of a basketball emblazoned with a "B" in black typeface.

"We're thrilled to introduce the brand identity," Nets CEO Brett Yormark said.  "It truly is Brooklyn."

Last week a picture of the logo was leaked to the public by an IT employee but now fans can actually go out and buy a hat or shirt with the logo printed on it.

Brook Lopez, the Nets center who will be a free-agent this summer, wore a black suit to represent the team's primary colors.  He helped show off the new merchandise.  Head coach Avery Johnson was on hand but there was no sign of Deron Williams.

Even though the logo was unveiled today, the team said it won't introduce its new uniforms until the fall.

Wonder if they'll make one in a size XXXXL and send it to Christie.  Oops, too soon?

Ex-Magic CEO's Booty-Call Could Help Nets Land Dwight Howard

Nothing says "I love you" like a late night phone call to your ex—or soon-to-be free-agent—after a few rounds of drinks but the same call also says "run for the hills."

Either way, it's never a smart thing to do as ex-Orlando Magic CEO, Bob Vander Weide, found out after admitting he phoned Dwight Howard pleading with the star center to stay with with his team.

It sounds like the CEO's booty-call might have backfired.

Vander Weide, who unexpectedly retired yesterday, told Bright House Sports Network he called Howard a few days ago after having "a couple of glasses of wine" and "maybe should have waited until the morning."

"Maybe Dwight thought it was inappropriate to talk business after a couple glasses of wine," Vander Weide told the network about the 1 a.m. phone call.  "I was playing paddle with a couple of friends."

The Magic are desperate to keep Howard in Orlando.  Arguably the NBA's best big man, Howard can opt-out of the final year of his contract on July 1, and has expressed his desire to go to another team.

The situation has pretty much forced the Magic to deal the five-time All-Star now before they risk losing him for nothing in return when he becomes a free-agent.

In the meantime, teams have been taking advantage of the shaky relationship between Howard and his current team.

The Los Angeles Lakers—most notably—have offered everyone but Kobe Bryant for Howard but it's the New Jersey Nets who have actually put a tangible deal on the table.

The Nets have offered Brook Lopez, draft picks and cap space in order to keep their own All-Star point guard Deron Williams in Newark before they team moves to Brooklyn next year.

On Monday, Williams—who has his own opt-out decision to make after this season— claimed he had spoken with Howard about coming north and is "sure" he would sign an extension if he was dealt to the Nets.  The two players were teammates on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.

"[Howard's] a monster," gushed Williams.  "He's like a created player.  He's not real."

The Nets might be facing an uphill battle for the coveted big guy playing alongside Williams.

Los Angeles—and the bright lights of Hollywood—might be too much of a draw for the aspiring actor Howard and the trade bait—Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum—might be too tempting for the Magic.

While the desperate call by Vander Weide might have been fueled by liquor—as suspected by Howard—the Magic are still in the mix for Howard.  The former CEO told Bright House that Howard is still waiting to see what Orlando offers the center before he becomes a free-agent after this season.

"We have a pretty good relationship," said Vander Weide.  "I have a pretty clear understanding where Dwight's head is and that's between him and this organization."

Still, the Nets don't want to turn any trade negotiations with the Magic into a media feeding frenzy, ala the Knicks and Carmelo Anthony.

"We're confident—Billy [Nets GM Billy King] and I," said Nets coach Avery Johnson.  "We've been confident all along.  Last year, we had a circus atmosphere when we were trying to make deals for some guys.  Hopefully, if we do anything, you guys [the media] won't find out until you kind of find out what we did [with Williams]," said Johnson.

Johnson said that trade talks with Orlando are in the preliminary stages and will be kept under wraps until the time is right.

"I can't talk about it publicly," said Johnson.  "But it's a foregone conclusion that we're working at it and hopefully, we'll get something done."

Maybe it's time for the Nets to bring out the big guns to lure Howard to Jersey and their new Brooklyn home next year—Madison Avenue and Jay-Z.