Nets point guard Deron Williams won't rule out picking up his one-year, $17.8MM option at season's end, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Williams has been expected to seek a long-term contract on the open market this summer but the 27-year-old said that he's open to putting off his free agency until the 2013 offseason.
“Yeah [picking up the option is something I’m considering]. I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Williams told the Daily News on Monday. “At the end of the season, I’m going to figure out what’s going on, I’m going to sit down with my agent and look at every option possible.”
As a player with seven years in the league, Williams can sign a new deal worth up to 30% of a team's salary cap. That contract could be a five-year pact if he opts to stay in New Jersey or a four-year deal if he goes elsewhere.
If the point guard signs with a different team this summer and renounces his Bird rights, he'll earn about $700K less next season. A new long-term, max deal with the Nets would pay Williams roughly $200,000 less in 2013 than the one-year option.
Bondy points out that Dwight Howard has a similar one-year option available, though it's unclear if the former first-overall pick would want to deal with another year of speculation and uncertainty.