"The speculation about whether Williams will re-sign with the Nets after the season and continue to be the face of the franchise in its transition to Brooklyn has been rampant. Unfortunately the team's flaws were apparent in a 106-70 loss to Atlanta on Tuesday night. At a party for him in SoHo after the game he made it clear that the team needed to improve.

"We need some more pieces," he said. "There's no secret about that. There's not many starters on our team right now. We have a lot of great role players, a lot of guys who know their job, but in this league you need some top-tier guys so you can get the job done."

The Nets made an aggressive push to add the All-Star center Dwight Howard in the off-season but Orlando's indecision and a foot injury to Brook Lopez have temporarily halted those talks, leaving the focus squarely on Williams."