Grading the Brooklyn Nets Rumored New 2012-13 Uniforms

The Nets will spend all season proving that change can be a good thing.

They'll be adjusting to a new city, arena and a roster with faces that are new (Joe Johnson), relatively new (Gerald Wallace) or healthy for the first time in a while (Brook Lopez). Most importantly, of course, they'll also be getting a feel for some new uniforms.

If the leaked images are any indication, it won't take long.

These jerseys look good...really good.

The most recent hint looks even better than what we've seen in NBA2K13 clips, which show a similar uniform with a much broader white stripe surrounding the collar. If Jay-Z and company indeed opted for the more straightforward look we're seeing now, they made a good decision.

Either way, the Nets' new look is an improvement upon what we've come to know and hardly love. New Jersey's old red, white and blue color scheme was more likely to conjure up whimsical images of the Harlem Globetrotters than anything intimidating.

These sleek, black jerseys mean business.

And yet they do so in a classic and understated sort of way. At a moment when jersey design appears to be trending toward flashy fonts, bold colors and busy patterns, Brooklyn's new threads are classy and elegant.

They embody an enduring aesthetic that would have been respectable 50 years ago and could still be 50 years from now.

You'd expect nothing less from a franchise attempting to build some tradition from scratch and market the you-know-what out of that tradition for as long as possible. We're not talking about throwing together some little league uniforms here.

This is big business, where it pays to be fashionable.

You can rest assured plenty of fans will be paying for these new-look jerseys and loading up on all manner of Brooklyn Nets merchandise. Whether this team plays as well as it will look remains to be determined, but at least we know they'll go out in style whenever their season comes to an end.

The Nets are looking like a solid 'B+' team at the moment, but the uniforms get an 'A'.