Brooklyn Nets looking to stamp their arrival onto NBA stage next season – NBA News
The Brooklyn Nets held a press conference on Friday, kick starting an era of rivalry between the New York Knicks and the Nets for the coveted title of best team in New York.
The Knicks had that title with them for quite some time now, but a move by the Nets to Brooklyn, a new arena, and a stellar roster for next season has put the Nets back in contention for the crown. We will know the answer next
season but Nets newly acquired guard Joe Johnson said on Friday that he feels the Nets are the better team of the two.
Nets General Manager Billy King was also present at the presser, and seemed confident and excited about what the future holds for the basketball franchise.
"This is a great day, because it's a day when we put together the best backcourt in the NBA,” said King referring to the signing of Deron Williams and Johnson for the backcourt.
Another great back court combination that has been formed as a result of this year’s free agency is the Steve Nash - Kobe Bryant pairing in Los Angeles, but King still thinks his is better.
"They're good. But I think ours is better. If you asked [Lakers GM] Mitch [Kupchak], he'd probably say his is better. It's like a North Carolina-Duke thing,” said King.
Johnson and Williams are the two biggest signing of the offseason for the Nets, but they didn’t stop there.
It looked like King was given an unlimited budget by Nets owners and Russian Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. And he made full use of the money at his disposal, signing Williams to a five year contract worth $98 million, trading
for Johnson’s huge contract of $89 million for four years and then adding a number of players to surround them. King re-signed center Brook Lopez for a four year contract worth $60 million, and Gerald Wallace for a four year contract worth $40 million. He
has also brought in Bosnian forward Mirza Teletovic and rebounder Reggie Evans.
With a star studded roster, the Nets are now looking to challenge the big teams in the Eastern Conference next season. They have not made the playoffs since the 2006-2007 NBA season, and are 58-172 over the past three seasons.
But that is about to change in the next regular season which commences in late October.
“It's not just about winning a local championship or a regional championship. It's really about winning an NBA championship, and that's what our focus is on,” said Nets coach Avery Johnson.
The Nets were initially attempting to trade with the Orlando Magic for Dwight Howard, with Lopez and forward Kris Humphries as the trading chips. But with Orlando not responding positively to their offer and Lopez receiving interest
from other teams, the Nets decided to put an end to all the confusion and signed Lopez, bringing an end to their run for Howard and setting a direction for the basketball club.
They are now in talks with free agent Kris Humphries to return for next season, and look to add some key role players and backups to the squad.
“The last year and a half was painful. It's kind of a fresh start for all of us,” said Williams at the conference while correctly representing the mood of the whole franchise.
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