And even with the Warriors, Williams' fortunes have not improved. Despite Monta Ellis being out through his off-season misfortunes, Williams has dropped on the Warriors' depth chart and ranks below undrafted rookie DeMarcus Nelson, who won the starting job. He has been criticized for not grasping coach Don Nelson's offense and his lack of defense, always a concern with the Nets. So Williams could be a mere afterthought when the Warriors visit New Jersey Saturday for the Nets' home opener.

And ironically, the third point guard spot is something the Nets never settled in pre-season. They signed Keyon Dooling to back up both guard spots -- behind point Devin Harris and shooting guard Vince Carter. With a healthy infusion of bigs, the Nets opted not to keep a third point, which would be Williams' job if he were still around.

In New Jersey, there always were issues for Williams -- lack of conditioning, lack of defense. And defense should be a sore point for the Nets, despite a terrific opening night show. After surrendering 103.7 points per game in pre-season, they limited the Wizards to 85 points.

NETS 95, WIZARDS 85: The Nets went with a 10-man rotation and kept fresh bodies on the court all game -- particularly the end. So they were able to hold the Wizards without a field goal from 6:02 of the fourth all the way down to 11.8 seconds when a so-what basket did nothing more than provide the final score. Offensively, the Nets got what they needed from Vince Carter (21 points, six assists), Yi Jianlian (17 points, 7-of-11 shooting), Jarvis Hayes (14 points, 6-of-9 shooting) and Devin Harris (13 points, five assists).