After the five-game NBA Finals for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Deron Williams awful performance has become the crux of many jokes.
When Deron Williams came to the Cleveland Cavaliers back in late February last season, it was seen as a key edition to the roster. After a forgettable performance in the NBA Finals Williams has been the butt of several jokes. Now the latest person to joke about Williams’ NBA Finals performance is none other than ex-teammate Richard Jefferson.
The conversation came about on the latest edition of the Road Trippin’ podcast when Jefferson was on with announcer Chris Geeter, ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin, and Sarina Morales.
Williams’ name came up when the conversation turned to athletes putting out their own podcasts and the direction of media in the future. Jefferson talked about giving Williams advice on how to pursue his other interests while still playing in the NBA. In addition to that RJ plugged Deron’s new podcast titled, “Ballers and Brawlers.”
What followed was the exchange that made headlines happened between Jefferson, McMenamin and Greer. You can read it below.
Richard Jefferson: “When you ask Deron about golf, his eyes light up. When you ask Deron about MMA, his eyes light up.”
Dave McMenamin: “What about when you talk to him about coming off the bench for the Cavs?”
Jefferson: “His eyes did not light up, his eyes did not light up.”
Chris Geeter: “What about when the Warriors saw him coming off the bench?”
Jefferson: “Their eyes lit up”
It is important to keep in mind that during this exchange everybody involved was laughing and Jefferson seemed to simply be making a lighthearted joke at Williams expense. It should not be seen as Jefferson taking a shot at an ex-teammate who did not perform well in his time with the Cavaliers.
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During his time in Cleveland Williams averaged 7.5 points, 3.6 assists and shot a respectable 46.3 percent from the field in the regular season. These numbers were produced in a reserve role, and while he did help Cleveland on offense, it quickly apparent that Williams would be a defensive liability.
As a matter of fact, the Cavaliers were outscored by 3.4 points per 100 possessions and posted a defensive rating of 108.3 when Deron Williams was on the floor during the regular season (via NBA.com stats database.)
Once the playoffs began though Williams disappeared almost altogether and became less dependent coming off the Cavaliers bench. In the Finals, the Warriors feasted when Deron came into the game. He was unable to hang with the likes of Steph Curry and Shaun Livingston on the defensive end.
Williams played 61 minutes in the five NBA Finals games, shot just 12.5 percent and had as many turnovers as points (5).
With Williams now pursuing other interests it will be interesting to see if any other NBA team takes a shot and signs the 12-year NBA veteran. It was apparent that D-Will was not thrilled with his backup role and could be why the Cavaliers chose to pass on him this offseason and went with Derrick Rose instead.
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On a different note, one great thing to come out of Jefferson’s time with the Cavaliers has been the success of his podcast. The edition that dropped on Monday was the 40th episode and the podcast has quickly become a hit all across the sports landscape. It appears that RJ will be quite successful in whatever he does once he decides to call it a career.