The Brooklyn Nets made arguably the most important moves this offseason. The potential of this team rose from a middle of the pack playoff team to a championship contender. Due to these offseason moves and due to potential the team now has—Deron Willams has all the pieces he needs to win his first MVP award.
With the Nets starting lineup, Williams (18.9 ppg, 7.7 apg and 37 percent from behind the arc in 2012) has a myriad of weapons at every starting position (Brooke Lopez at center, Kevin Garnett at power forward, Joe Johnson at shooting guard and Paul Pierce at small forward). Williams’ position at point guard will make him a prime candidate to boost his non-ppg numbers. His assist will easily hit 10 per game. Williams has always had the ability to shoot over 40 percent from 3. With the ability to space the floor with the new acquisitions, he will now have more opportunities.
Finally, the 29-year old’s MVP campaign depends on how far the Nets go into the postseason. They will have to reach the Eastern Conference Finals at the least. If they make it to the NBA Finals, the former Utah Jazz player will have an even stronger case.
The only obstacle in Williams way—besides the beast that is LeBron James—is everyone’s infatuation with numbers, especially scoring. The Nets’ all star point guard will not score 25 points per game. Heck, with all the weapons he has he may not even score 20. However, if he leads his new star studded team—with a rookie coach in Jason Kidd—to the Nets first NBA Finals appearance in more than a decade, arguing against number No. 8 for Most Valuable player will be extremely difficult.
