The Nets were eliminated from the 2015 NBA Playoffs on Friday night. Saturday morning, Brooklyn head coach Lionel Hollins admitted PG Deron Williams is “not a franchise player anymore.” Do you agree or disagree?
Hollins explains, via Mike Mazzeo of ESPN:
A day after the Brooklyn Nets were eliminated from the playoffs, head coach Lionel Hollins admitted point guard Deron Williams is no longer a franchise player.
“He’s not a franchise player anymore,” Hollins said on Saturday morning during break-up day. “He’s a good player, he’s a solid player, but I don’t think he’s a franchise player anymore. That’s just my opinion. He’s a good player. I’m proud of the way he’s bounced back and played, and there’s so much pressure on him to be a franchise player, and everybody talks about a franchise player, but we need to have a franchise team.
“That means we have everybody going out there and playing hard, playing together, sharing the ball. If a guy is open, he makes a shot. If a guy is not open, he passes to another guy and he makes the shot. To me, that’s what basketball is about. It’s not about a franchise player. I mean, those guys come along once in a lifetime, and everybody doesn’t get a chance to coach one. When you don’t have one, you can’t say you can’t win. There are teams that have won championships without franchise players, what everyone considers a franchise player. I’m not worried about that. That’s something you guys talk about and worry about. I worry about us going out there and playing hard, playing together and trying to scratch and claw to win a game. That’s what it’s all about.”
