If Deron Williams wants to be traded away from the Brooklyn Nets, insulting the city is sure to help his cause. The embattled Nets point guard bolted Utah with dreams of being a superstar in a big city.
That hasn’t come to fruition for Williams, whose body has failed him to this point. During a Resident Magazine cover story, Williams talks about adjusting to life in the big city, and admits that “he doesn’t feel like a New Yorker.”
On being a New Yorker
I’m not going to lie. I don’t really feel so much like a New Yorker. I grew up in an apartment in Texas where you could send your kids outside like ‘yeah, go play in the sun.’ Here it’s more challenging. The process of getting them into school is a nightmare. Even private schools where you pay are an ordeal. In Utah, you just send your kids to the first public school in the area because they’re all great. Truth is, we enjoy getting away from the hustle and bustle and going back to Utah every summer. It’s a relief to take that timeout. No traffic. No crowds. My daughters still have their friends there. There’s a big backyard. They go to the pool; the playground and they jump on the trampoline. Kids running wild and free here in New York…? I don’t think so.
On what makes a New Yorker
Taking the subway… which, by the way, I love to take. Yes, of course I have a chauffeured car but the subway is way faster. Second thing is the New York/Brooklyn accent — which I don’t have. Third thing is New Yorkers are tough. Or at least they think they are.
Sounds like Williams is having second thoughts about spurning Mark Cuban and the Mavericks. It was Williams decision and he made it. I’m sure he’d feel quite different if he was still a top-five point guard.