Deron Williams showed up for his charity dodgeball tournament Thursday wearing a big smile and a walking boot on his right foot to protect the sprained ankle and bone bruiseไ he suffered recently while ♛working out in Utah.
“It’s good,” Williams said. “I sprained it like two-and-a-half weeks ago in Utah. I worked out on i🤡t the next day, the next week … I’ve been working out on it.
“I just had a little pain in there, and I know about that,” he conti༒nued, referring to his spending much of the first half of last season dealing with discomfort in both ankles. “I told [Nets trainer Tim Wꦗalsh], he made me go for an MRI and it had a little inflammation in there.
“Basically, this is just preventative. They have me in it now, s▨o I don’t have to worry about it when the season starts.”
Williams said that if it were up to him, he wouldn’t be wearing the boot now, but admitted the decision was made,𒁃 in 🎶part, “just protecting me from myself, I guess.”
He added heꦛ will be going for another MRI exam on the ankle next week, and thinks he’ll be out of the boot soon.
After spending so much of last season dealing with ankle issues, Williams admitted he was frustrated to have another ankle issue crop up so close to the start of training camp on Oct. 1 — while virtually the entire team is working out at the Nets’ practice facility in New Jersey.
“It’s frustrating because I want to be hooping with the guys right now,” he said. “I want to play in [the dodgeball tournament] today. It’s frustrating. … As long as I’m ready for [opening night on Oct. 30 in Cleveland], that’s all that matters to me.
“But I’ll be ready it.”
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Williams said that, even w༒ith the walking boไot on, he was hoping to take part in the dodgeball festivities.
“I’m going to try and catch a ball or something,” he said. “[Walsh] wouldn’t let me play softball yesterday, [so] I doubt they’re going to let me play dodge✤ball.”
The Nets were out in force at the event, including minority owner Bruce Ratner, general manager Billy King, head coach Jason Kidd, teammates Paul Pierce, Alan Anderson, Shaun Livingston, Tyshawn Taﷺylor and Mason Plumlee and𓄧 former Knicks Anthony Mason and John Wallace.
The tournament was held to benefit Williams’ Point of Hope Foundation, which works to help fight🔯 autism.