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D-Will on fatigue: 'I didn't take any time off'

Nets guard Deron Williams hasn't been himself on the court this season, and fatigue may be to blame. Ned Dishman/NBAE/Getty Images

He’s banged up. My confidence is gone. I’m a system player, and I don’t feel comfortable running Avery Johnson’s isolation-heavy offense.

All of the above have been used as explanations as to why Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams hasn’t lived up to his $98 million contract this season.

But wait, there’s another.

Nets GM Billy King told ESPN’s Ian O’Connor on ESPN NewYork 98.7 Sunday that D-Will “didn’t take any time off” and “has a tired body right now.”

When asked about it in San Antonio on Monday, Williams, who played in the Olympics and overseas in Turkey during the lockout last season, agreed.

“I didn’t take any time off. After last season, I never stopped working out,” Williams told reporters. “After the Olympics, the day I got back I worked out the next morning. I thought it was the best thing to do, and now looking back, it probably would have been smarter to take some time off and get a little bit of rest, especially on my legs, and my ankles in general.

“I took a lot of pounding over the last year because even though we had a shortened season, I was over in Istanbul, so I haven’t had a break since before then. I felt like I could handle it, and at the time I thought it was the right thing to do. I didn’t want to get out of shape. I wanted to just keep going.”

Williams, 28, is shooting a career-low 39.9 percent from the field, 30 percent from 3-point range. He’s averaging just 16.3 points, 7.5 assists and 2.8 turnovers per game. He ranks 20th in PER among qualified point guards. Defensively, the Nets are 11.5 points per 100 possessions better when he’s not on the floor (110.5 to 99.0). According to basketball-reference.com, he’s making just 33.9 percent of his jump shots.