DALLAS -- All-Star point guard Deron Williams doesn't want to address the subject of possibly playing in his hometown on a permanent basis during this trip to Dallas, but his coach acknowledged that the Mavericks are a major threat to sign the free agent-to-be.

New Jersey Nets coach Avery Johnson has a lot of respect for his former boss, Mavs owner Mark Cuban. The billionaire has teamed with Dallas president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson to give the Mavs the financial flexibility this summer to attempt to sign Williams and/or Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.

"He's a threat, OK?" Johnson said of Cuban after the Nets' practice Monday night at SMU. "I know the guy. I think because of the success he's had -- and I know he got criticized a lot for quote-unquote having all those years where he didn't win a championship -- but he's had some great success here that rivals any situation. So that's a threat."

Williams, whose team plays the Mavericks Tuesday night, pretended to not be aware that the Mavericks would have enough salary-cap space to be major players in free agency this offseason. He made it clear that he had no intention of discussing the possibility of joining Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas next season.

"I'm just going to play out this season and look at my options after this season," Williams said, repeating several variations of that statement during a five-minute session with the media.