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Jazz team doctor says Deron Williams didn't like Jerry Sloan calling plays

Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

It's been almost five years since the inability of point guard Deron Williams and coach Jerry Sloan to coexist ended both of their tenures with the Utah Jazz.

Sloan, the third-winningest coach in NBA history, retired suddenly on Feb. 10, 2011. Less than two weeks later, Utah shipped Williams - who at the time was seen by many as the heir apparent to Jazz legend John Stockton - to the New Jersey Nets.

While it was common knowledge at the time that the two did not see eye-to-eye, longtime Jazz team physician Dr. Lyle Mason recently shed some more light on the conflict.

"Deron was the opposite of Stockton," Mason told Salt City Hoops. "Deron could not handle the coach calling any plays. He wanted to call every play ... and that was part of what really drove them apart, was that Deron just decided he didn't need coaching, and Jerry obviously thought otherwise."

The Jazz took Williams out of the University of Illinois with the No. 3 pick in the 2005 draft, one pick before the then-New Orleans Hornets chose point guard Chris Paul.

"The coaches looked at him and (Paul), we could have taken either one," Mason said. "I think Jerry decided on Deron because of his size, strength, and his durability. They thought he might be just a little bit better than Chris. But the personality conflict grew between him and the coach, and eventually it became impossible for the two of them to stay."

The Jazz have not won a postseason game since Williams and Sloan were still with the team. After a solid first year-and-a-half with the Nets, Williams began a process of regression that recently culminated in a buyout and a below-market deal with the Dallas Mavericks.

Still, as his throwback 35-point performance in a playoff game last spring indicates, the 31-year-old may still have something left in the tank. Mason chalks most of Williams' shortcomings up to injuries.

"Obviously, (with the Nets) he's been hurt a lot, too," he said. "Nobody ever figured the wrist out. We knew he had loose ankles. And then those just got worse, I think."

- With h/t to EOB

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