NBA Updates: Deron Williams Is Not in the NBA, and He Doesn't Seem to Care

The end of the professional athlete life cycle can happen quickly. Five months ago, Deron Williams was playing on pro basketball's biggest stage, the NBA Finals, alongside LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. Today, he's your casual hoops fan.

On opening night, as his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, took on the Boston Celtics in an Eastern Conference Finals rematch, Williams was at his Dallas home, cooking with his wife, Amy. He had planned on watching the game that was playing in the other room but got sidetracked in the kitchen, only learning of Gordon Hayward's horrific injury through a series of text messages from friends. He tried again for the night's second marquee matchup but failed at watching that as well.

"I started to watch the Houston game [against Golden State], but the ceremony was taking so long. I didn't want to watch that, and I think I turned something else on then fell asleep," said Williams in a phone interview with B/R in late October.

"I'm disconnected from basketball life right now."

Williams is a free agent. He's not retired, but he's not necessarily looking either. Caught somewhere between anxiety and indifference, the 33-year-old three-time All-Star is experiencing his first fall in over a decade without an NBA team to report to. But the story of Williams' life right now is not one of a man who can't let the game go. It's one of a man who wants to play or not play on his own terms.

"Basketball doesn't define me as a person. If this is my last season or I'm done playing basketball at this point, I feel like I could look back and say I had a great career," Williams said. "Not many guys get to play 12 years in the NBA and win gold medals and get to compete for a championship. So, I got a lot to be proud about."