Video: Williams on NBA TV

Deron Williams grew up outside of Dallas watching his "favorite player other than Michael Jordan" play for the Mavs. He would see Jason Kidd make a move on TV and then go outside and try the same thing. He admired Kidd's ability to distribute the ball and keep his teammates happy. He wore Kidd's No. number 5 in college and would have chosen it in Utah if Carlos Boozer didn't have it already.

Williams was selected by the Jazz with the third pick in the 2005 NBA Draft after his junior season at the University of Illinois. He was the first among a strong group of point guards to be taken. Chris Paul and Raymond Felton were taken with the next two picks. Williams was the biggest and strongest of the three, his profile much like that point guard he followed as a kid outside of Dallas.

John Stockton retired in 2003 and the Jazz have spent the last two years searching for a replacement. Last season, they used second-year player Keith McLeod as their primary starter at the point. They chose Williams to be their point guard of the future.

Kidd was the Co-Rookie of the Year in '95. Andy Hayt/NBAE/Getty Images

It's now five games into the 2005-06 campaign, and McLeod is still the starter, but Williams is seeing a good amount of burn for a rookie. Coach Jerry Sloan usually brings him in at the beginning of the second quarter. That is an adjustment for Williams.

"I'm just trying to deal with not starting and not playing the whole game like I'm used to," he said. "And when I get in there, I'm just trying to make the biggest impact that I can, just contribute in all different ways."

Coming in cold may be tough, but his coach is confident enough in him to keep him on the floor for the entire second and fourth periods in most games. In Charlotte on Monday, Williams played the entire fourth quarter plus overtime, helping the Jazz to a four-point victory.

"That's the most important thing to me," he said. "Being out there at the end. I'd rather be out there in the end than starting and not being there."

Following the game in Charlotte, the Jazz flew to New Jersey where Williams would get to go against the point guard he followed as a kid and who he had never met. As he had in previous games, Williams checked in at the beginning of the second quarter, facing off against Nets' back-up point, Jeff McInnis. He made an impact immediately finding Matt Harpring cutting to the basket on the break, where Harpring drew a foul.

Kidd checked in with 7:45 to go and 25 seconds later, Williams broke him down on the dribble on the secondary break, drawing the foul on Kidd as he went by him. Williams played a solid game, running the offense without a turnover in 18 minutes of action. The Nets took control of the game with a 30-14 third quarter and Sloan did not go to his rookie to start the fourth as he had in the past, instead calling the third point guard, Milt Palacio. Williams did come in with 6:20 to go (playing alongside Palacio) and scored 8 points in the last four minutes, but it was too little, too late.

Williams has his teammates' trust. Kent Horner/NBAE/Getty Images

Kidd liked what he saw in the rookie though.

"For a big guard, he's quicker than he looks," Kidd said after the game. "He's in a great system with Coach Sloan and you're going to hear his name a lot. He has all the tools to be a great point guard."

Coach Sloan, while confident enough in Williams to play him down the stretch, knows his young point guard has a long way to go.

"He's a young guy," Sloan said. "He's got a lot of things to understand, different players he has to play against, the types of players he has to play against. All those things. It will take a while for him to get comfortable."

Andrei Kirilenko says that Williams' teammates believe in him though.

"He had great experience in college running a team," Kirilenko said before the New Jersey game. "Of course it's a little different right now, because people here range from 18 to 35, so you need to be respectful because it's hard to control and organize everybody if you don't have respect. But I think everybody feels good with Deron as a point guard and trusts him. I think that's important."

Is he the next Jason Kidd? Time will tell. For now, Williams is just trying to adjust to the rigors of the pro game and make an impact when he's on the floor.

"All I can do is just go out there and play hard, and try to make the biggest impact that I can."

He has Kidd's blessing.

"If he's the next Jason Kidd, I wish him the best of luck."