The Nets seem committed to bringing Bojan Bogdanovic to the NBA next season. The team's chief international scout, Danko Cvjeticanin, said that last week. The problem is that Fenerbahce wants to keep him and his contract has no buyout clause this summer. Unless it's renegotiated, and that's going to be difficult, he will may very well play another year in Turkey.

But let's assume that Fener does agree to a buyout. Aren't the Nets limited to paying only $525,0000 of a buyout that could be two of three times that much. Not necessarily, say league sources. It's a common misconception, they say, that you can only pay up to the CBA limit of $525,000 towards an international players buyout. Not so, there's is no limit BUT any amount over $525,000 gets charged to the team's salary cap or if the team prefers, an exception: the MLE, "room" exception or bi-annual.

Technically, one source noted, it gets counted as a signing bonus or gets included in the player's first year deal and ultimately, Bogdanovic would have to pay Fener or work out an advance against his salary. But it can be done. Moreover, second round picks like Bogdanovic can negotiate much more freely than first rounders. Whether the Nets are willing to do that is a question, but first they have to convince Fener to let him go.

Billy King took it on the chin Wednesday, first with the Yahoo! Sports report (later denied) that Deron Williams won't return unless the Nets sign Dwight Howard, then losing the team's first round pick in the Lottery. In between, Chad Ford called for him to be fired for the Gerald Wallace trade and fans excoriated him.

If it bothered the Nets GM, he didn't show it. He continued to sell the lure of Brooklyn, taking a top agent on a tour of Barclays Center in the afternoon, one of several tours he hopes will familiarize agents with the progress of the arena. Later at the Lottery, he again defended the trade, saying Wallace would hold more value for the Nets "win now" philosophy than anyone taken at #6. He also took some pride in his own record of finding gems late in the Draft.

But his biggest and boldest comments came in a SocialCam hit, in which he told fans, "We’re going to re-sign Gerald Wallace, and we’re going to re-sign Deron Williams," adding, "We have a lot of scenarios where we'll sign veteran players. Our goal is never to be back here."

• NETS: Probabilities Hold at Lottery, Pick to Portland - Ben Couch - Brooklyn Nets
  

There was rejoicing in Dallas-Fort Worth Wednesday night as the Nets struck out in the lottery. The Nets now with fewer assets to lure Dwight Howard, Maverick beat writers believe, and thus like their team's chances of getting Deron Williams in free agency. In Orlando, however, a Magic writer lamented the end of their dream of an Anthony Davis for Howard trade.

"What transpired Wednesday was a step in the right direction of possibly making that happen," wrote Dwain Price of the Mavs' D-Will-to-Dallas hopes in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

It's only a handful of subway stops on the Q or 2 lines between Madison Square Garden and the new Barclays Center subway stop and David Stern hopes it's well trafficked. In his "State of the NBA" talk Wednesday, Stern held out hope that both arenas would be sold out on a regular basis.

"I am hoping, for more sparks, a few verbal, some build up," Stern said about the rivalry before the NBA lottery. "We are going to have two spectacular new buildings in New York City and we are going to have two very aggressively managed teams... "

"I think that we are going to have, two sold-out arenas, not just for games against each other, but for all games."

Stern did admit the Nets have further to go than the Knicks. "We are awaiting the summer to see how the Nets fulfill their assurances and their aspirations," the commissioner said.

• Stern wants 'sparks' in Knicks-Nets rivalry - Fred Kerber - New York Post
• Commissioner David Stern awaits Knicks-Nets rivalry - Alex Raskin - Star-Ledger
• NBA Commissioner David Stern delivers state of the league address - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger
• David Stern on Knicks-Nets rivalry - Al Iannnazzone - New York Newsday
  

In a podcast discussion before the Draft Lottery, Bill Simmons and Chad Ford discussed the Nets' situation regarding the Draft and Gerald Wallace's future. Ford, who reiterated what he had said an earlier ESPN article: that he thinks Billy King should be fired for the Wallace trade, adding he's heard "rumbling" of what the Nets will offer Wallace.

"He’s going to opt-out and my guess is that they’re going to re-sign him probably ... what I’ve been hearing the rumbling is three-years, $24 million…"

Ford also excoriated King for not being a "savvy negotiator" in the Wallace deal, claiming the Trail Blazers would have accepted a "mid- to late first round pick" for Wallace. Simmons said he wouldn't be surprised to see another team up the bid for Wallace to deprive the Nets of needed cap space. Simmons also said the Nets' moves the last year have not been governed by logic.

• The B.S. Report - Bill Simmons and Chad Ford (Audio @ 7:45) - Grantland
  

The Nets will surrender their first round draft pick this June to the Portland Trail Blazers. They finished 6th in the Draft Lottery. As part of the Gerald Wallace trade at the deadline, the Nets agreed to deal their pick unless it was top three and Wednesday night, they lost.

Asked after the Lottery to respond to fan unhappiness with the results, Billy King said, "Have faith" and added in a SocialCam hit, "We’re going to re-sign Gerald Wallace, and we’re going to re-sign Deron Williams." The Nets GM said that he didn't think the Nets would win a top three pick and was prepared for it. He added the Nets are in talks with Wallace's agent. "We’ll negotiate and do a fair deal and get it done," King told reporters.

The Nets have two trade exceptions from the March 15 deal, a $3.0 million exception and a $1.34 million exception. The Nets also dumped Shawne Williams $3.15 million contract in the trade. With the lost pick, the Nets also gain $2.55 million in salary cap space that had been set aside for a player taken at #6.

The top pick went to the New Orleans Hornets, giving them the right to pick Anthony Davis in the June 28 draft. The Charlotte Bobcats will pick second and the Washington Wizards third. The Nets are left with the #57 pick in the second round, obtained in the Chris Quinn trade two years ago from the Heat.

• Message From GM Billy King #DraftLottery (Video) - SocialCam
• Hornets win draft lottery, will pick No. 1 in NBA - Brian Mahoney - AP
• Blazers get 2 first-round draft picks - Anne Petersen - AP
• New Orleans Hornets win NBA Draft Lottery - Fred Kerber - New York Post
  
• Brooklyn Nets lose draft pick in NBA Draft Lottery - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
  
• Nets GM Billy King mum on chase for Dwight Howard, Deron Williams' future - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger
  
• Nets get 6th pick, but come up empty-handed - Roderick Boone - New York Newsday
• Nets not so lucky in draft lottery - Steve Popper - The Record
  
• Billy King not broken up over Nets' misfortune - Alex Raskin - HoopsWorld
  
• NBA draft lottery -- Brooklyn Nets shut out - Kieran Darcy - ESPN New York
• Stern sees 'great rivalry' for Knicks, Nets - Kieran Dancy - ESPN New York
• Hornets Land Top Pick in N.B.A. Draft - Jake Appleman - New York Times
• Nets stuck with 6th pick in NBA Draft - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
  
• Hornets win, Nets lose in NBA draft lottery - Ken Berger - CBS Sports
• Hornets, Warriors Draft Lottery winners. Nets lose. Again.- Kurt Helin - NBC Sports
  
• Hornets strike it rich, plus more lottery observations - Sam Amick - Sports Illustrated
• Rough Start To Beginning Of The Nets' Renaissance - Michael Scotto - RealGM
  
• NETS: Probabilities Hold at Lottery, Pick to Portland - Ben Couch - Brooklyn Nets
  

Just what this day needed ... more drama. With Nets fans already anxious about the Draft Lottery, Adrian Wojnarowski ruined everyone's morning by suggesting that Deron Williams future with the Nets is binary: No Dwight Howard, no Deron Williams in Brooklyn

Then, shortly before 5 p.m., Williams checked in with a tweet that essentially denied the basis of the Woj story: that he had made any kind of decision about his future. "I would love to know who Adrian Wojnarowski source is bc he knows more about what I'm thinking than I do. Maybe he could help me decide."

• Deron Williams denies Yahoo! Sports report that it’s Dwight Howard ‘or bust’ - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
• Williams refutes 'Howard or Bust' report - Lou DiPietro - YES Network
  

Adrian Wojnarowski reports that despite Deron Williams claims he doesn't know where he's going this summer, the point guard won't be staying with the Nets unless they acquire Dwight Howard. Even if the Nets got the overall #1 pick in the Draft and take Kentucky's Anthony Davis, that wouldn't be enough, writes Woj. Meanwhile, Howard is apparently is aware of this and is pressing the Magic to get a deal done soon, despite the uncertainty surrounding his health.

"It's Dwight Howard or bust," a league source "who has spoken to Williams" told Woj. According to the Yahoo! hoops writer, "Williams doesn't want to stay with the Nets unless they become an instant Eastern Conference contender and wouldn't accept waiting for Davis' development." As for Howard, Woj writes, "Howard regrets forgoing his early termination option on his 2012-13 contract, sources said, and wants a trade before next season." As a result, he writes, "Howard's camp is applying pressure on Orlando to expedite a deal once it hires a new general manager."

Woj also writes that if the Nets do beat the odds and get the overall #1 pick, they are unlikely to deal both Anthony Davis and Brook Lopez to the Magic.

• Sources: Getting Anthony Davis won't be enough for the Nets to hold onto Deron Williamss - Adrian Wojnarowski - Yahoo! Sports
• Deron Williams’ uncertain future puts Nets in fascinating spot - Zach Lowe - Sports Illustrated
  

It's the kitchen appliance DeShawn Stevenson cannot live without, an ATM, found right there amidst the refrigerator, oven, microwave, family breakfast table and iPad. Stevenson posted a picture on Instagram of himself in his lovely family kitchen Tuesday and everyone quickly seized on the notion of a household ATM.

What's its purpose other than as a convenient source of cash for the Stevenson family? He's not saying The only caption was "Swag Out Before My Dinner." Swag indeed!

• Nets' DeShawn Stevenson has an ATM in his kitchen - Scott Gleeson - USA Today
  

David Blatt, the highly regarded coach of the Russian National Team, thinks that it's likely Andrei Kirilenko will return to the NBA next season, but says it's entirely possible that he'll stay with CSKA Moscow.

"I think he will be back in the NBA," said Blatt, an American citizen. "But, you know, Andrei, he's a special person, a special player, his personality, too. He made the same decision, like so many players, to play the part of the NBA season overseas until lockout ended . But once he saw he that he was such a big part of the team, that he was happy in his environment and he was close to the team, he decided he wanted to stay and to finish what he started, which I thought was very admirable. This is Andrei."

Kirilenko has said he hasn't made up his mind, but if he returns to the NBA, his "top two priorities" are the Jazz and the Nets. Meanwhile, a Spanish sports site reports that former Net Nenad Krstic may join Kirilenko in Brooklyn. Encesando reports that Krstic "wants to go with him." Krstic, 29, played four years for the Nets before a devastating knee injury. He and Kirilenko were first team All-Euroleague.

• Shved Should Reject NBA This Year – Russia Coach - RIA Novosti
• Kirilenko will join Team Russia Basketball in Slovenia - Blatt (Google Translate) - R-Sport
  
• CSKA Is dismantled? Krstic has an offer to go to the Brooklyn Nets with fellow Kirilenko (Google Translate) - Master Javier - Encesando

Irina Pavlova will go into Wednesday night's Draft Lottery with no special memento, no lucky charm, just positive thoughts.

"I don't have a good luck charm," she told NetsDaily Tuesday, "But I'm a big believer in the power of positive thinking and intuition. And both are telling me we're gonna do well tomorrow! I really do believe there are great things just ahead of us!"

The president of Onexim Sports & Entertainment, Mikhail Prokhorov's rep in New York, she will sit on stage as the names of teams are pulled from envelopes and the Draft order revealed. Milton Lee will be in the back room. If the Nets get a top three pick (a 25.1% probability), they keep it. If not, it goes to Portland. Удачи!

• Brooklyn Nets hold 7.5 percent chance to land Anthony Davis of Kentucky in NBA Draft Lottery Wednesday - Fred Kerber - New York Post
• For Nets, Lottery is No. 1, 2, or 3 or bust - Lou DiPietro - YES Network
• To retain draft pick, Nets need to land one of the top three picks - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
• Odds not on Nets' side for NBA Draft Lottery - Andy Vasquez - The Record
  

Bradford Doolittle is editor of the prestigious Basketball Prospectus, the annual team-by-team, player-by-player analysis. Writing for ESPN Insider, Doolittle breaks down the chances of all 30 teams to land Deron Williams. He concludes there is only one 5-star destination, the "one made in NBA Heaven", the Nets.

"When you pare down the list, you can't help but agree with the consensus: There really are just a couple of likely landing spots for Williams," Doolittle writes. "Certainly a return to the Nets is one of those possible choices. Williams has claimed to like living in New York, and the Nets can offer him the most years and guaranteed dollars -- $25 million more of the latter at the bottom line."

There are of course pitfalls, the Nets' record since acquiring Williams, and Doolittle thinks acquiring Dwight Howard, without a top three pick will be difficult. "It's hard to see that happening, but then again, the Magic's options may be extremely limited." Dallas? Doolittle says the Mavericks are the only 4-star destination.

• NBA - Which teams would provide the best free-agent fit for Deron Williams? - Bradford Doolittle - Basketball Prospectus via ESPN Insider
  

Two things to know about the Draft Lottery Wednesday night (8 p.m. ET): past performance is no guarantee of future success and "it's a big day", as Billy King tells Ben Couch. For all the positive reinforcement provided by history, each draft is its unique event, with unique probabilities. Also know that if you don't hear "Brooklyn Nets" called between #9 and #6, it will be not just a big day but a good one.

Ben Couch lays out the Nets' draft history and lists all the caveats but bottom line, here are the numbers: the Nets have a 41.38% chance at remaining in sixth place, 29.38% of dropping to seventh, "or 9.36% of jumping to third, 8.33% chance of rising to second and a 7.5% of having Nets fans opening weeping in joy shortly after 8 p.m. It is possible, too, he notes, that the pick could fall to #8 or #9 overall (3.94% and 0.11%, respectively). Trail Blazer fans wouldn't like that.

Jake Appleman notes that it has to be disappointing for Nets fans who, a few months ago, thought they might have two picks in the top 20. Now they may have none.

• NETS: Nets Hoping for More Lottery Luck - Ben Couch - Brooklyn Nets
• Nets Need Lottery Luck Just to Draft in First Round - Jake Appleman - New York Times
• Nets seek backup plans for lottery loss - Gregory Hrinya - Examiner
  

No one's saying (other than Charles Barkley) that the Draft Lottery will be suspect if the Nets win it. But there's no doubt the NBA wouldn't be unhappy if the Nets got off to a good start in Brooklyn with a high lottery pick, perhaps the overall No. 1. That's because, in the words of David Stern's deputy, Brooklyn's success is important to the league.

"With all things being equal, we’d love this team to get off to a good start," Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver told Tim Bontemps at last month’s unveiling of the Nets’ new color scheme and logos. "For financial reasons, [Brooklyn’s] hugely important. In fact, the team is projected to become a revenue sharing payer, instead of a recipient, which makes a big difference."

Silver said Nets' management and ownership is up to the task. "I think management wins in this league. I have confidence in Bruce Ratner and Mikhail Prokhorov and their teams, and Billy King and Avery have a strong track record."

• Nets and league have chance to win at Wednesday's lottery - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
  

This time, it's Russian hockey players. The president of the Kontinental Hockey League, Russia's hockey league, announced Tuesday that his teams will play two regular season games in January at Barclays Center. The date and the teams have yet to be determined, but Alexander Medvedev said they will be top teams and the games will be played just before the KHL All-Star Game in late January.

Newsday reports the idea originated with Medvedev who spoke with fellow oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov. Barclays, of course, is trying to show the arena is a valid landing sport for the Islanders when their Nassau Coliseum lease runs out in 2015.

• In January, the KHL will hold a two games of the regular season in Brooklyn (Google Translate) - SovSport
• KHL coming to Brooklyn in January? - Jason Brough - NBC Sports
• Hockey in Brooklyn: KHL president says two regular-season games set for Barclays Center - Dmitry Chesnokov - Yahoo! Sports
• Barclays to host Russians - Rich Calder - New York Post
  
• Brooklyn Plans Two Regular-Season KHL Games - Seth Rosenthal - New York Magazine
• KHL teams expected to play two games in Brooklyn - Mike Brehm - USA Today
• Russian hockey teams to play at Barclays Center - Steve Zipay - New York Newsday
  

The BogJam is not as up-and-down as the Melo Drama or as lengthy as the Dwightmare, and certainly not as significant as either, but the Nets pursuit of Bojan Bogdanovic will be difficult. He says it's not up to him whether he suits up with the Nets. It's up to his Turkish League team, who he says the Nets are talking with.

"We had a good conversation and Billy King told me that the Nets were following me and that they would try to make a deal with Fenerbahce," Bogdanovic told Crobasket. "It's not true that I wanted to leave or quit Fenerbahce, I still have a contract for two years. I would go to the NBA only if they do something with the Nets." King had described the 6'8" swingman as "anxious" to join the NBA.

Bogdanovic's contract with Fener, signed just before last year's Draft, has no "NBA out" this summer, but a $1.5 million buyout a year from now. Under the new CBA, the Nets can pay only a little more than $500,000 of that. "I must first wait for the outcome of negotiations between Nets and Fenerbahce and then we'll talk about it, " he concluded. Nets international scout Danko Cvjeticanin has been pushing to get Bogdanovic. He has publicly compared his countryman to Carlos Delfino, Peja Stojakovic, even Manu Ginobili.

• Bogdanovic: "Going to the NBA does not depend on me" (Google Translate) - Igor Marinovic - Crobasket
  

As they count down to Opening Night in Brooklyn, the Nets are following a strategy that has them in the papers, on sports web sites and TV almost every day. One day it's the corporate identity event, the next it's Barbra Streisand, a tour of the arena for a national newspaper or pictures of Jay-Z on a London stage rocking a Nets cap.

This week, it will be the Nets Dancers, that is, the "all-new Brooklyn Nets Dancers". On Saturday at 10 a.m., hopefuls "from all over the world" (including current Dancers just back from China) will gather at LIU to try out for "the hottest dance team in the NBA." The team has a new sponsor, Crunch Fitness, and a celebrity choreographer, Tanisha Scott, who is also, no surprise, Jay-Z's choreographer.

Other roll-outs this week include an announcement that Calvin Klein will sponsor the Courtside Club at Barclays and that Russell Peters will be the first stand-up comedian to play the arena in November. Also, the WWE will hold its TLC (Tables, Ladders and Chairs) pay-per-view event in December 16.

• Tanisha Scott chosen as choreographer of the Brooklyn Nets’ dance squad - Page Six - New York Post
• Brooklyn Nets Dancers Flyer - Brooklyn Nets
• NETS VIDEO: Dancer Auditions - Brooklyn Nets

Calvin Klein is the Nets' and Barclays Center's newest sponsor and will put its name and logo on the arena's VIP entrance as well 700 exclusive courtside seats at the "Calvin Klein Courtside Club." Industry sources told the Post that the fashion house will pay $4 million annually for the sponsorship deal.

The Post reports, "Entering through the Calvin Klein VIP gate, guests will ride an elevator adorned with more Calvin Klein logos before arriving at the courtside Calvin Klein club. Arena officials called the pact a "street to seat" immersion in the brand." There's no indication the brand will sell Nets-themed gear or have a retail presence at Barclays Center.

• Calvin Klein scores $4M Barclays Center sponsorship - Paul Tharp - New York Post
• Calvin Klein is seventh founding partner of Barclays Center - Sports Pro
  

Irina Pavlova, president of Mikhail Prokhorov's Onexim Sports & Entertainment USA, will have the Nets' seat of honor at the NBA Draft Lottery Wednesday. Pavlova will try to do what no Nets executive or owner, including Prokhorov and Jay-Z, has done since 2000, get the overall #1 pick in the Draft. Lewis Katz, then Nets owner, pumped his fist as the Nets moved up from seventh to first.

And this time of course it's critical because if the ping bong balls land the wrong way and the Nets don't get a top three pick, they'll have to surrender the pick to Portland.

The daughter of a Russian diplomat with degrees from Moscow Linguistics Institute and Stanford, Pavlova has described her job this way: "bridge the gap between the management here in the States and the Moscow office. The way I see it is: I’m here to facilitate everything that needs to get done to get us a championship team." She is also a member of the Nets' Chairman's Council, its board of directors.

Other than Deron Williams no Net felt the loss of Brook Lopez this season more than Anthony Morrow. With defenders able to give him more attention on the perimeter, Morrow had fewer open shots and his three point percentage dropped below 40% for the first time in his career. He hit 37.1% ... the third straight year it's declined.

Still in a poll of 146 NBA players, Morrow was voted the fourth best pure shooter in the league, behind Ray Allen, Dirk Nowitzki and Kyle Korver. This season's decline beyond the line doesn't mean he's lost his shooter's touch. He shot 93.3% from the stripe, which would have been enough for him to win the free throw shooting title, but he failed to get the required number of attempts.

• NBA Players Poll: Best Pure Shooter - Sports Illustrated
  

Their surprising season over, the 76ers are looking for a few good men to put them over the top, and Comcast Sports Net thinks Rod Thorn wants to raid the Nets for Kris Humphries and Gerald Green. In fact, the two Nets free agents are the only free agents the writer, Gordie Jones, mentions.

"While Thorn is not permitted under the league’s tampering rules to mention specific players, two unrestricted free agents who might help the Sixers are now with the Nets – guard/forward Gerald Green and power forward Kris Humphries," writes Jones, seeming to imply he was given the names by someone in the Sixers' front office.

• Despite run, Sixers still far from elite - Gordie Jones - Comcast Sports Net
• Williams still opting out; Humphries in Sixers' future? - John N. Mitchell - Philadelphia Inquirer
  

Earlier this month, Brett Yormark quietly gathered a group of potential sponsors at Barclays Center, gave them a tour of the site and introduced them to David Stern. And they heard a lot of news, including that the billion dollar arena could host the All-Star Game in 2015.

Among the other news, as Sports Business Journal reports exclusively:

--The next arena sponsor to be announced is Calvin Klein, whose black-and-white corporate identity matches that of the Nets. Calvin Klein brand will appear on some of the arena’s high-end seating areas.

--Four of the 11 "Vault" suites, the high end Jay-Z designed suites, have been sold at a cost of $550,000 per year with a three year commitment.

--While the arena awaits the end of the Islanders' lease, officials are considering an American Hockey League franchise and the arena will host several Russian hockey league games.

--Stern revealed that that "several [NBA] owners told me this was never going to happen, even as the steel was going into the ground."

• For Nets’ sponsors, seeing arena is believing at partner summit - Terry Lefton - Sports Business Journal

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Busy, busy, busy. During the next two to three weeks, the Nets will learn how many picks they will have and where they fall; dispatch front office staff to Minneapolis; Chicago; Treviso, Italy: and New York's Chelsea Pier to look at prospects; begin working out players they like at the PNY Center and hear what Gerald Wallace plans to do.

Will they be looking for a top three pick or no first round pick, one (or two) late second round picks or maybe a pick somewhere late first/early second round, courtesy of Mikhail Prokhorov's wallet?

Beyond the lottery, the Nets will learn Friday whether they will have that other second rounder. The Lakers can accept $250,000 for the #60 pick, a leftover from the Sasha Vujacic trade. We hear it's unlikely (and would the last pick be worth an amount roughly equal to the annual budget of the Springfield Armor where said pick is likely to wind up?)

There's also another two-day mass workout in Minneapolis starting May 31. The traditional big workouts are back-to-back: the Pre-Draft Combine in Chicago on June 7 - 8 and the Adidas EuroCamp in Treviso, Italy, June 10 - 12. There will also be D-League Tryouts on June 16 in New York. The Nets will reportedly start individual workouts June 13, the same day Wallace will have to decide whether to opt out, opt in, and/or extend his contract. They're talking.

Continue reading this post »

It's been a quarter century since the Nets outdrew the Knicks in attendance. Home games with the New Yorkers often felt like away games in New Jersey. The last Knicks game in Newark on April 18 was a particular disgrace. Knick fans booed Nets players as they attempted free throws and chanted "Let's go, Knicks" and "MVP" when Carmelo Anthony touched the ball. Deron Williams called it an "away game."

Brett Yormark famously promised that will never happen again. "The nights where there are more fans for the opposing team than ours won’t happen in Brooklyn," Yormark told the Daily News a couple of days after that epic debacle. "We’ll have diehard fans that are going to grow up as Brooklyn Nets fans."

The Nets have done well lately. At the Manhattan-based NBA Store and online, Nets merchandise outsold Knicks merchandise in May even though the Knicks were (sorta) in the playoffs. Ticket sales are reportedly brisk. They got some air time on TNT's Post-Game Show. Jimmy Kimmel will be in Brooklyn for the season opener. A large van called the Nets Experience has been dispatched to the far corners of the borough, with (irregular) tweeted updates alerting people to its location. They're in Sunset Park Sunday at a street fair. Nets players have been in the community for years. Bottom line, though, it's about the product on the court.

• The new Nets look to Brooklyn and the future looks bright - Richard G. Carter - New York Amsterdam News
  

When Barclays Center applied for its state liquor licenses, it had to submit 53 separate filings for everything from portable bars that will roll through the arena to a number of clubs. The filings give a better sense of the club scene inside the arena and some hints about previously unpublicized bars and lounges.

In addition to licenses sought for the arena's exclusive clubs: the North - South Bars at opposite ends of the arena, the "Legends Lounge," "Courtside Club" and "Champagne Bar" inside the Jay-Z designed "Vault", others are being sought for a previously unmentioned "Chairman's Club," "'B' Lounge," and something called "The Fan Favorite" upstairs. There's a filing, too, for a "Brewery Bar", presumably the "Beers of the World", and "Stoli's" (although only for a portable bar). There will also be a Kosher Deli ...or two... and other restaurants, grills and stands.

Not getting ahead of ourselves here, but eight times in the last 15 years, a team with the fifth worst record or lower has won the overall #1, producing Kenyon Martin, Yao Ming, Andrew Bogut, Andrea Bargnani, Derrick Rose, John Wall and Kyrie Irving. So if the Nets win the lottery Wednesday, would they keep it, pick Anthony Davis or trade it for Dwight Howard?

The Magic seem to think so. In tweets and columns this week, local writers have suggested that the Magic will be rooting for the Nets to land that pick and facilitate a deal, maybe even on Draft Night. One writer in fact thinks Pat Williams, Orlando's senior vice president, be lent to Brooklyn. Williams famously was on the stage when the Magic won lotteries in back-to-back years and took Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway.

Meanwhile, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel suggests that Howard must win now to repair his reputation and thus expand his list of destinations beyond Brooklyn.

• Magic, Nets need Pat Williams' ping-pong prophecy to make Dwight Howard, Anthony Davis deal - Mike Bianchi - Orlando Sentinel
• Dwight's tattered image needs wins - Brian Schmitz - Orlando Sentinel
  

You can call this our Draft Lottery Preview, in which we offer positive reinforcement for those optimistic fans. The Draft Lottery will be a big deal for the franchise and here is somse reason for hope: In eight of the last 15 drafts, and in four of the last five, a team that finished with the 5th worst record or lower vaulted into overall #1. There's other history to keep you warm and fuzzy until Wednesday night.

And since we are optimistic, our Draft Sleeper is someone who could wind up in the top three. We also examine the rationale behind all those stories about the Nets pursuing young players and veterans, take a look at two of the free agents the Nets had in last week, try to figure out when the first preseason game will take place at Barclays Center, and compare Gerald Green with Dennis Horner and Jeff Foote.

Continue reading this post »

New helicopter aerials posted Friday by WCBS' Tom Kaminski show progress on the two big constructions elements on the entrance plaza in front of Barclays Center. Steel framing for the canopy that juts 80 feet out over the plaza, with its distinctive "oculus" or opening to the sky, appears complete. The Barclays Center Transit Connection to the nine subway lines below the arena is getting closer to its July completion date.

• Barclays Center Update (Slideshow) - Tom Kaminski - WCBS Chopper 880
  

The Nets international scout has told a Croatian sports site that the Nets want Bojan Bogdanovic in training camp this summer but are prepared to wait for him if his contract issues with Fenerbahce of Turkey can't be worked out. Bogdanovic has to negotiate a buyout with Fener which is resisting letting him go. The buyout could be in the millions and the Nets can only pay $525,000 under league rules.

Danko Cvjeticanin pushed the Nets to draft Bogdanovic, calling him a combination of Carlos Delfino and Peja Stojakovic. In an interview with HrSport, Cvjeticanin was open about the Nets' intentions toward the 6'8" Croatian swingman, saying Brooklyn wants Bogdanovic now.

"Nets general manager Billy King does not want to do anything by force, but it is quite clear that Bojan should be a Nets' player," said Cvjetićanin, adding that he thought it should happen "immediately." Cvjeticanin, a teammate of Drazen Petrovic in Croatia, added that negotiations with Fener is in the hands of his managers, and "If we fail to bring him this summer, we'll bring him next. There is mutual interest, but we should respect the decision of his club."

• Cvjetićanin confirmed: The Nets want our Bogdanovic Now! (Google Translate) - V. Radicevic - HrSport
• Bogdanovic has requested termination of the contract with Fenerbahce? (Google Translate) - Sportal
• Bogdanovic and the Nets are interested in co-operation from next season (Google Translate) - Branimir Korac - Sportnet