Did Mikhail Prokhorov just trump the Knicks?

A source close to the situation has confirmed reports from The Record and Yahoo! that the New Jersey Nets have reached an agreement with the Utah Jazz on a trade that will bring point guardDeron Williams to New Jersey for Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and two first round picks. The trade call is expected to happen “within the hour,” says the source.

So basically, the Nets got (arguably) a better player than Carmelo Anthony for less than what they were offering the Denver Nuggets for Melo.

The picks are the Nets’ unprotected pick this year and the Warriors pick next year (protected 1-7).

The Nets will also send, in a separate deal, Troy Murphy to the Golden State Warriors for Dan Gadzuric and Brandan Wright. New Jersey doesn’t play until Friday (in San Antonio), so they’ve got time to get their new players situated before they play.

Of course, this prompts so many questions …

Will the Nets now target Dwight Howard in 2012?

Could the Knicks have gotten Williams instead of Anthony?

Will Williams, who can choose to become a free agent in 2012, be happy playing for Avery Johnson?

Did the Jazz know that they weren’t keeping Williams beyond next season?

And how did this happen so quickly?

sa nba.com