Should Billy King be Fired?

Should Billy King be Fired? Is Deron Williams injury-prone?

Billy King has been one of the worst general managers in the NBA during his time with the Nets. From trading too many draft picks to letting players walk for nothing, I am getting tired of his egregiousness.

There have been an immeasurable amount of moves and roster changes that he has made that have been dreadful, but I am going to highlight three of the most damaging moves made by Billy King as a GM of the Nets.

In a last minute hustle to try to prevent point guard Deron Williams from bolting to Dallas in free agency that summer, Billy King sent Shawne Williams, Mehmet Okur, and a top three protected first round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for an aging Gerald Wallace. That draft pick ended up being pick number six, which turned into rising star Damian Lillard. Knowing Billy King, it is likely the Nets would have selected a player like Austin Rivers with that pick rather than Lillard, as the Nets did not need a point guard during the time. Gerald Wallace was not bad for the Nets, but he was also nothing special. He was definitely not worth giving up Damian Lillard for. The Nets re-signed him that summer to a four year, $40 million contract. Wallace never lived up to his multi-year deal.

Billy King did not wait before making his next mistake on July 11, 2012. In another last minute decision to get Deron Williams to re-sign, Jordan Farmar, Deshaun Stevenson, Anthony Morrow, Jordan Williams, Johan Petro, a 2013 first round pick, and a 2017 second round pick were sent in return for an aging Joe Johnson and the four year, $85 million left on his massive contract. This trade took away all flexibility to make any big roster moves for the foreseeable future. Joe Johnson has not averaged more that sixteen points per game as a Net, but he has been one of the most consistent players on the team since the trade. He was expected to do much more, but with his age, it is not surprising that he is not the player he once was. The Nets are now stuck with him for two more seasons, in which they will pay him over $42 million.

Although the prior two trades were high-risk, high-reward in nature, the final trade being evaluated was a trade that would mortgage the Nets’ future for the better part of the decade. Billy King traded Gerald Wallace, Keith Bogans, Marshon Brooks, Kris Joseph, Kris Humphries, three first round draft picks (2014, 2016, 2018), and the right to swap 2017 first round picks to the Boston Celtics for an aging Paul Pierce, a washed up Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry, and DJ White. King let the best asset of the trade, Paul Pierce, walk in free-agency to the Washington Wizards.

I have said nothing about trading for injury-prone Deron Williams. It was the right move to make at the time. But after seeing that he hasn’t worked out in Brooklyn, maybe it is time for a change. Billy King has made one bad decision after another in his tenure with the Nets. If the Nets want to have any success, he must be fired immediately.