Bill Simmons: Deron Williams To Dallas 'Is A Lock'

Tucked away in a footnote in Bill Simmons' latest NBA mega-post on Grantland is this interesting little tidbit:

Nobody feels sorry for [Deron Williams] because he ruined the last year of Jerry Sloan's career, and for that he remains in NBA Purgatory - at least until he signs with Dallas this summer. We're all supposed to pretend this might not happen even though it's a bigger summer lock than Michael Phelps winning a gold medal. I haven't talked to one person "In the Know" who isn't 100 percent convinced that Dallas is getting him. But let's all keep pretending this isn't true.

If the Mavericks amnesty Brendan Haywood and decline Lamar Odom's team option, they would only have five players under contract: Dirk, Shawn Marion, Rodrigue Beaubois, Brandan Wright and Dominique Jones.

It's hard to know how seriously to take the chatter Simmons is passing along, but it certainly makes the summer of 2012 more interesting for Dallas fans.