New Jersey Nets: The New Era

First is the process of determining what direction we truly want to head in. We have a 25-year-old point guard and two big men in their early 20s, yet our go-to-guy has just passed 30.

It truly ends and begins with Vince Carter.

If we trade him, we rebuild. If we keep him, well, we hope light in the tunnel is closer than we thought. The main problem is that Vince Carter is thought of by the owners as higher than Rod Thorn himself. That resulted in the Nets basically bidding against themselves for Carter's services.

Now we are in a rut trying to decide between unloading the contract that does not expire till 2010 or keeping him for mere fan satisfaction.   

Rumors of a Vince Carter for Jermaine O’Neal deal have floated around, but those depend on O’Neal’s knees. In reality, that deal is about acquiring a contract ending one year earlier than Carter's.

The Nets real future plans lie with the friendships of our owner. The vast world of 2010 NBA free agents is astounding and the biggest name of all, LeBron James, just happens to be buddy-buddy with Nets' part-owner, Jay-Z. 

The chances of landing him are slim to none, but there are some incentives leaning in our favor.

LeBron's $100 million bonus for playing in New York, Los Angeles, or another big city certainly does not hurt our chances. He also has an immense respect for Jay-Z, not only personally, but business-wise as well.

The pieces they have to entice the King? It starts off with the Kidd trade.

Devin Harris played second-fiddle often to Jason Terry, but he was the replacement for Steve Nash when he signed to Dallas. Though he does not have the two MVPs, he has Finals experience to go along with a winning record in every season he has played.

It is quite fitting that he steps into even bigger shoes in Jersey, as he will try to accomplish half of what Kidd did for the Nets.

The Nets also have two young men by the names of Josh Boone and Sean Williams. Boone is the stud finisher down low, while Williams has made highlight after highlight in dunks and astonishing blocks.