BBALLBREAKDOWN Oct. 2015 | Page 14

Inside The Numbers By Dan Clayton After years of throwing good money after bad, Brooklyn finally decided to cut its losses on the Deron Williams era. But it leaves the Nets with a major gap, as the guys vying for his role have so far underwhelmed from an analytics standpoint. All told, Brooklyn gave up numerous picks (including the two they had to surrender to get him in the first place) and tens of millions in salary and taxes based on the idea that they could build a contender around Williams. Now, thanks to a buyout discount and the stretch provision, they’ll pay him more than $27M over the next half decade while he plays elsewhere. The decision makes sense financially.