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Williams: Don't turn into LeBron James - Fort Worth Star Telegram (blog)

DALLAS ---- Deron Williams got to be careful he doesn't turn into LeBron James and alleniate his hometown folks.

Yeah, there's a slight difference in that James grew up in surburban Cleveland and played seven years for the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Williams grew up in surburban Dallas but has never played for the Mavs.

Mavs fans may think Williams is toying with them with thoughts of coming to play for the Mavs. Especially f he turns around and decides to sign a free agent contract with the Brooklyn Nets.

If the latter occurs, it may get a little uncomfortable for Williams when the Nets play in American Airlines Center for the rest of Williams' career. That's just the way society has become.

No one likes to get spurned. Particularly if the spurning is done by someone who grew up in your own backyard and knows this place like he knows the back of his hands.

If Williams doesn't sign with the Mavs, he may regret not doing what Dallas native Chris Bosh did when he became a free agent in the summer of the 2010. Bosh never considered coming back to Dallas to play for the Mavs, so no carrot was dangled in the faces of the Mavs' fans.

Bosh went on to sign a free agent contract with the Miami Heat.

Whether he knows it or not, Williams inviting Nets coach Avery Johnson to his private birthday party and tweeting pictures of himself playing golf in the Hamptons with Jason Kidd sends signals that he's going to sign with the Nets. There are plenty of very nice places to place golf and hold a private birthday party in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

In essence, if Williams signs with the Nets, he may want to bring his earplugs to American Airlines Center whenever Brooklyn comes to town to play the Mavs. Or he may want to just ask LeBron James how that's working out for him whenever the Heat superstar plays in Cleveland.

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@dwainprice

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