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Finally, the preseason minutiae of salary cap, back of the bench roster moves, and meaningless games are over. The Nets capped off a week full of final cuts, none surprising, by unloading the guaranteed contracts of Mile Ilic and Bernard Robinson, neither of whom would ever sniff the Izod Center floor, along with cash to Charlotte for David Wesley. GM Ed Stefanski pulled the Nets about $500k under the luxury cap with the trade. The move also cuts the roster to 13 players, after the Nets cut David Wesley, as widely expected. Another exciting move driven solely by the business of basketball - roster limits and salary caps.

Over the past week, New Jersey also cut Jumaine Jones, Eddie Gill, Mateen Cleaves, and Robert Hite, who had a small portion of guaranteed money. The Gill and Hite moves slightly surprised me. Gill showed an ability to run the point in a pinch, which I see as an insurance policy with Kidd and Darrell Armstrong hampered by preseason injuries, and Marcus Williams out for at least another few weeks. If anything, the move shows Kidd is 100% for the opener. Meanwhile, Hite followed up a solid summer league performance with a nice pre-season. A young, athletic guard, Hite brought more energy, effort, and skill, to the floor than Antoine Wright. With the roster down to 13, the Nets still have room to add another player or two to fill out the roster. Allan Houston rumors immediately surfaced, but the move makes no fiscal sense given any addition would likely site the bench most nights, adding a salary that brings the team over the luxury tax makes no sense, nor do I think Houston wants to come back to see DNP in the box score every night.

News surfaced on Marcus Williams, Josh Boone, and Antonie Wright, the Nets picking up third year options for Williams and Boone, while they declined the fourth-year for Wright. One clarification, for those unfamiliar with the calculus equation and countless rules that accompany rookie contracts, all of these options are for next season (2008-09). Teams have until the Opening Night before the season to pick up options on the final year of the 1st Round draft pick contracts, or leave them open to restricted free agency after the season. Wright, set to make $2.56 million next season, clearly could be resigned for less, or the Nets can find better, cheaper options at backup swingman in the free agent pool. Expect the Nets to decline Nenad Kristic’s fourth-year option as well. Once Kristic proves he has overcome the ACL injury, and shakes off the rust, New Jersey should make a move to extend the contract for 4-5 years, a key move to the Nets future.

Tune in for the Nets preview podcast, right here on NJNetscast.com this week. Only another day until opening tip with Chicago. Go Nets!

You can the throw the records, and the stats, out the proverbial window when Opening Night tips off. They mean absolutely nothing. Seriously, who remembers the Spurs preseason win-loss record from last season, or how many points LeBron James averaged in those exhilarating October showdowns? Nobody cares.

So why follow the Nets this preseason?

1. Health – For established star players, the preseason only serves to physically and mentally prepare for the 82-game grind. VC, Kidd, and RJ, can score 2 points a game or 25 point, as long as they are ready to roll on October 31st. Nenad Kristic returns after major knee surgery, is he fully recovered, can he go full-tilt, how rusty is his game? More questions than answers, the preseason will show where he stands. For RJ, by all indications the injuries of the past few seasons are behind him. The Nets need RJ healthy through the pre-season, and into the regular season, to win the Atlantic. If RJ and Kristic did not bring enough concern before the season, Jason Kidd went down with a back injury last week and has missed most of training camp. Sounds minor, but…

2. Young Player Development – With Marcus Williams, arguably the most talented, highest impact recent Net draft pick, sidelined with a foot injury until mid-November, the focus shifts to two athletic big men and a struggling guard on his last chance. Antoine Wright, the 15th pick from the 2005 draft, must step up after two disappointing seasons. The Nets gave Wright a simple mission, improve your jumper and come back in shape, last year he failed, if he does not show improvement this preseason the Nets may decline his option. Keep an eye on that. In the post, rookie Sean Williams and second-year man Josh Boone will join the fray for playing time. Each brings athleticism and shot blocking, not to mention a semblance of scoring threat (are you listening Jason Collins), to the floor, all attributes the Nets need. Consistency and defense could hold either, or both, back. Williams must show discipline after the Nets took a risk drafting him out of BC after the school removed him from the team for disciplinary reasons. Showing up late for the first preseason game, not a good start.

3. New Acquisitions – The Nets remained quiet this off-season, after resigning Vince Carter, acquiring Jamaal Magloire was the biggest free agent acquisition, despite numerous rumors about Jermaine O’Neal, Garnett, and even Kobe. Will Magloire return to his 2003-04 All-Star form, or continue the regression exhibited during stops in Milwaukee and Portland, becoming more of a distraction than an attribute. Magloire gets a fresh start in Jersey, with a chance to be a major component of a winning team, desperately in need of his double/double skills to get over the top. The only roadblocks, Magloire’s attitude and work ethic. I am curious how much playing time Magloire gets this preseason, a good indication of where he sits on Coach Frank’s favorites list.

4. Big Man Rotation Battle – Assuming Kristic returns to form, four of the five starters are set. Ever since acquiring Jason Kidd the post position has been a revolving door of aging veterans, Mourning, Mutombo, Clifford Robinson, and career journeymen, Brian Scalabrine, Mikki Moore, and Rodney Rogers, to name a few. When injuries hit the starting lineup last season, teams exposed the Nets weak front court, sometimes not even guarding Jason Collins in order to double team Kidd and Carter. The Nets addressed the void, signing Jamaal Magloire and Malik Allen, and drafting Sean Williams. Now these three will battle incumbent Jason Collins, a defensive specialist with NO offensive game, but a Lawrence Frank favorite, and a healthy Josh Boone for playing time. The numbers point to Magloire, a former double-double player, assuming the spot, but Frank loves Collins and values defense. The young guys bring complementary skills to the court, and a shot-blocking presence missing since the pre-knee surgery days of Kenyon Martin. Pre-season box scores mean very little, but watch minutes played with this group to get an idea of where Frank plans to go come Opening Night. Very intriguing. Can we stand another season of Jason Collins starting at center averaging two points a game?

Opening night is right around the corner, the Nets quest for Eastern Conference supremacy begins Halloween night at home against the Bulls. Just how good will the Nets be, playoff team, Atlantic Division champions, perhaps the best in the East? Let us know your predictions for the upcoming season, drop us an e-mail (hosts@njnetscast.com) or hit the call-in line (347) 410-9093.

Listen in for the Season Preview podcast before Opening Night to catch my Net predictions, and hear how your fellow Net fans think the season will play out, all from NJNetscast.

With training camp bearing down, now only a week away, NBA teams continue to jockey for the last few available players hoping to add depth and address any weaknesses. The phrases non-roster invitee, veteran minimum salary, mid-level exception, and recently released player dominate the rumor mill, sprinkled in with the occasional discontented big name player on the trading block. As perennial contenders continually viewed as one or two players short of championship caliber, the Nets often find themselves in the midst of the rumor mill. Playing in the New York media market does not hurt either. After a summer of Jermaine O’Neal and Kevin Garnett rumors ended benignly with the less-flashy acquisitions of Jamaal Magloire and Malik Allen, New Jersey again finds itself linked with two high profile players, Allan Houston and Andrei Kirilenko.

Rod Thorn, Ed Stefanski, take my advice, resist temptation, stand pat. Allan Houston was a good player, even borderline great for few seasons, but that was 1998, not 2008. While he may still have the smooth stroke that earned him over $100 million of Charles Dolan’s money, after basically three years off necessitated by a debilitating knee injury, Houston likely brings nothing more than his outside shot to the table. Defense, explosiveness, a post-up game — not a chance. Some may argue Houston will bring that intangible veteran leadership that every team needs to take the next step. I don’t buy it. Houston never exhibited the on court leadership and tenacity, plus the fact he wants to play for the Knicks, not exactly a championship caliber team, proves his motives are less championship driven and more personal. By the way, last check, the Nets already have a pretty good leader at point guard.

On the Kirilenko front, a few rumors of a trade for Richard Jefferson surfaced after the disgruntled Jazz forward demanded a trade recently. The contracts match up, making the deal logistically feasible, a rarity with NBA superstars, but the rumor should end there. Coming off a down season (8.3 ppg), Kirilenko exhibited a poor attitude and lack of heart, neither appealing attributes. While RJ continues to struggle with injuries, and has converted to more of a perimeter player than the inside-out threat he projected as early in his career, I will take him over Kirilenko any day. Jefferson comes to play every night, and when healthy, performs, averaging over 16ppg for his career. Kirilenko may have more upside potential, but at risk of upsetting the chemistry and consistency of a healthy Jefferson, the trade makes no sense for Jersey.

Rather than sign an aging guard, or take on another team’s problem, the Nets should prepare for battle with the current roster. Outside of the Big Three, Lawrence Frank’s has a young, hungry squad, with well placed role players. I am excited about Antoine Wright, Robert Hite, and Marcus Williams. Wright and Hite, besides nicely rhyming, can both bring it on defense, and possess tremendous athletic ability. Williams can flat out score. After a rookie season marked by peaks and valleys, expect the UConn product to step up this season and shoulder some of J. Kidd’s load, especially if he learns to play defense.

Bottom line, the Nets are ready to go to war. Let the kids play, let Coach Frank work his magic, and let’s just see what happens. Come January, if the youth movement fails, Thorn and Stefanski can snatch a veteran off an underachieving team before the trade deadline. For now, lets see what we have. The future is now.

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Look for more updates and website features to be rolled out over the next two weeks as we gear up for the upcoming season.

In the meantime, Go Nets!

The New York Sportscast Network is happy to announce the debut of our brand new New Jersey podcast, Netscast, hosted by Michael Senno. For the upcoming 2007-2008 season and beyond, Netscast will bring you fresh, free commentary from die-hard Nets fans up to several times a week.

Stay tuned for all the latest on Jason Kidd and the Nets’ attempt at getting back to the top of the Eastern Conference from the perspective of lifelong, die-hard fans.