EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – When the Brooklyn Nets brought Joe Johnson and Deron Williams to their team, it was supposed to also bring success. Abruptly, those championship dreams fell to the wayside and they are now without Williams on the roster as he was bought out over the summer and D.Will took his talents to the Big D.
For a long time, it was unknown which one of the pair would be gone from Brooklyn first. There was rumors about both players, including an interesting one placing Joe with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but at the end of the day, Deron was sent packing. Joe still remains – along with Brook Lopez – from the team that was once expecting a title in Brooklyn.
With the 15 year veteran still around, the swingman stated that he was in fact surprised by the move that Deron made in the offseason. This coming just a couple of months after he was reportedly ‘pumped’ that D-Will was sent packing.
Joe Johnson said the following during Nets Media Day on Monday.
“I didn’t see that coming — him getting bought out. I don’t think it was that bad. It’s not that bad here. To want to get bought out, I couldn’t really put my finger around that one. But I hear that he’s happy and that’s the most important thing. He’s back home so good for him.”
It appears that a former Nets teammate of Johnson and Williams’, guard Tyshawn Taylor, isn’t quite sold on Johnson’s statement. Taylor tweeted the following (The first tweet has been deleted.)
Fck do I kno tho lol —
— tyshawn taylor (@tyshawntaylor) September 28, 2015
Is Joe truly surprised? I’d like to believe so but he might be more surprised that the Nets got rid of only Deron and not both of the former superstar guards. With D-Will gone, so goes the ‘problems’ the team had off the court. His issues were numerous but one thing still rings true, just has it has over the last few season. This Nets team isn’t chasing a title anymore. And now with an aging Joe Johnson and a departed Deron Williams, those aspirations are far from their reach.
(h/t to Devin Kharpertian of ‘The Brooklyn Game’ for the Tyshawn Taylor tweet)
