Jason Kidd

On how close Williams was to choosing the Mavericks:

"I thought he was very close to going to Dallas. People will be very shocked to hear that or say I'm just saying that, but he really, truly, I think, wanted to play at home. That was one of his ideas, playing at home, but it just didn't work out this time around."

On the deciding factor for D-Will:

"Honestly, it came down to the roster. Brooklyn made moves that improved the roster dramatically and he saw things were going that way. That would be my opinion from looking on the outside. He felt that if Dirk [Nowitzki] goes down he's sitting with himself…. From my point of view, I would say it's not about the money. He wants to win. He's been losing. He's been getting his teeth kicked in the last couple of years."

On whether Kidd had any influence on Williams' decision:

"With Deron, I was just the sounding board. We played golf, I'd ask him questions, he'd answer them, and if there's anything he needed, if he had a question I would try to answer it. That's how that all went."

On Kidd's own free agent status:

"Dallas has everything (Kidd's contract requests). It's just a matter if we can get a deal done with [Mark] Cuban that he feels is right. A lot of it was probably referenced with D-Will coming, but he's not, so it changes somewhat."

—–

Although we'd previously heard that Williams wasn't planning to meet with or visit any teams, Bucher reports that the point guard will meet with both Dallas and Brooklyn on Monday. At this point, the Nets look like the favorites to land Williams and, by extension, Kidd. A report Thursday night indicated that the 28-year-old was leaning toward the Nets, and Bucher hears from one source with business ties to Kidd and Williams that the pair has decided on the Nets. However, other sources tell Bucher that Williams has yet to make up his mind.

If Williams and Kidd are a package deal, it makes sense that their destination would be Brooklyn rather than Dallas, as ESPN.com's John Hollinger tweets. The Nets head into the offseason with a ton of cap space, while the Mavs will likely need to amnesty Brendan Haywood to even make Williams a max offer.

—–