Dallas Mavericks Fearing Deron Williams Will Sign With Brooklyn Nets?

According to CBS Sports, there is a sense of growing concern within the Dallas Mavericks’ front-office that their dream of landing Deron Williams is an ill-fated one. As always, it comes down to money: “Four rival executives and a fifth person familiar with Williams’ thinking said that the Mavericks are becoming increasingly worried that the All-Star point guard will stay with the Nets when the free-agent floodgates open Sunday. While optimists in the Mavs’ camp are holding out hope that they still have a ’50-50′ chance of landing Williams, who grew up in Dallas, executives working the phones Tuesday have detected a real concern from the Mavs that Williams will opt to join the Nets in Brooklyn next season. Free agency opens at 12:01 a.m. ET Sunday, and Williams will have a very clear financial decision in front of him. Under new CBA rules, the Nets can offer Williams a five-year deal worth approximately $100 million — one year and about $26 million more than the Mavs, the only other team the All-Star is believed to be considering. The recent vibe executives are getting from Dallas contradicts the word in the sneaker industry only last week. A high-ranking person in that field said that the feeling among sneaker execs was that Williams would prefer to join his hometown team at a discount rather than stay with the Nets. Such a decision, the person said, would be based on the understanding that Mavs owner Mark Cuban would be able to sway Williams that any lost earnings could be made up via endorsements and by the Mavs being better positioned to reload their roster around Williams and Dirk Nowitzki and compete for a championship.”