Have Ball, Will Travel: Deron Williams

This is in no way a travel. Not sure why you have a basketball blog, but you should delete it immediately. You have no clue.

This was a travel. For those who provided links showing other people doing (presumably) the same thing: those guys jump off both feet simultaneously. Deron first lifts his pivot foot and then jumps. Lifting your pivot foot with the non pivot foot still on the ground is a travel in any league.

hey I'm a trailblazer fan and I don't think that was traveling.

it's the up and under from full court.

here's kobe doing it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Jbm8MxrwgM&fea...

here's boris diaw doing it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EtvIyXPrUs&fea...

here's kevin mchale doing it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUJg6n_kUdo&fea...
this was his move. lift the pivot foot first, jump off non-pivot foot, get rid of ball before he lands.

I think this analysis is wrong...to say that you could raise the pivot and come back down on the other foot is wrong because it violates a different part of the travel rule. This is just like a fadeaway...or even a regular jumper, since nothing says you have to jump off both feet at the same time. To me this is a perfectly normal pivot and shot.

Not a travel? Why are you such a Deron hater? Gettin old...

My hunch is that the discomfort with the lifting of Williams' pivot is that his other foot doesn't lift at the same time (a la the Kobe link provided in the above comment). We're used to seeing a player with an established pivot foot jumping off both feet simultaneously, but Williams raises the pivot before raising the other foot. Also, the other foot seems to hit the ground just a moment before the pivot raises, making the scene more uncomfortable, yet, at least in light of the quoted rule, apparently not a travel.

Nice explanation Dave.

This is not a travel, and it happens all time when players shoot fadeaway jumpers in the post. After establishing a pivot, they step with a non-pivot foot (to create space) and shoot before the pivot returns the ground. Legal in both the NBA and FIBA.

I didn't think it was a travel on the step trough was a travel, but him dragging his pivot foot for three feet was a travel

Not a travel...this was a bad example of a travel compared to other posts. I'm sure there were a few tricky ones along the way but this you can even see without the slow-mo..sorry no travel, nice shot though!!

Agreed with the others that this is not a travel. Two points: a) If this was a travel, then every step-through move would be. That would be quite regrettable. b) I don't really follow the reasoning here; the quoted rule seems pretty straightforward and I don't see why this example should in any way be a special case.

Also, this:

"Technically, a player could go up for a jumper out of a pivot, and come back down with the ball so long as he lands on his non-pivot foot."

would indeed be bad and surely is not what the rule intended. But let's not forget that Deron doesn't do this here, so the point is invalid to the case at hand.

And what a great shot!

I think the rule that it violates is the part about switching pivot feet. Yes, you can lift your pivot foot, but you can't change your pivot. Changing pivots happens when you lift your pivot while the other foot is still on the ground. That means that if you lift your pivot, you have to lift the other foot simultaneously.

I'm with the other comments and John on this one. The rule you quoted says outright that the pivot foot can lift in the process of shooting as long as the ball is released before the foot lands. The hitch kick in the middle of his shooting motion makes the shot look ungainly. But the kick does not make it a travel, since the foot never touches the ground. The shooting motion starts at about 17 seconds in with both feet planted; the right foot doesn't land until the 20 second mark, well after release.

If there is mention in the rulebook about how a player may take off for a shot out of a pivot (i.e. a player must jump from both feet simultaneously, or lift the pivot foot last); then we're all wrong and you are right Rob. I do not know the rules well enough to say definitively that there is no such section, but your post seems to indicate that you did not see one either.

P.S. I love this feature, keep up the great work!

This isn't a travel. As noted in the video, you can lift your pivot as long as you shoot or pass before it touches. You can't jump off your non-pivot and land on your non-pivot because that's landing on the same foot you jumped with, which is a travel. Look at the Blake Griffin travel that HP showed--they point out that he hopped and landed on the same foot, which is a travel.

I don't think it's a travel. I don't see how this move is no different from a turnaround jumper. Check out Kobe's pivot spin move which is totally legit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44KHGBfOpNE&fea...

There he establishes his left as the pivot, spins, then takes off with his right foot and lands on that same foot before releasing his shot. Deron's footwork was similar to this move (minus the spin). If this were a travel, then god forbid, the dream shake would be as well. Great series though!!