It’s been 35 years since the Nets departed the media giant that is New York and bolted next door for little brother New Jersey. However, even after a three and a half decade-long absence from the Empire State, they still understand good and well upon their return that the people of Brooklyn won’t tolerate the losing that infamously defined the franchise for the majority of their time across the Hudson.

The ensuing result is what we’ve witnessed over the past week – an organization that gave Deron Williams, its perennial All Star point guard, virtually no other choice than to agree to re-sign long-term after first convincing Gerald Wallace to do exactly the same, and then used basically all of its young assets to acquire Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Joe Johnson.

In fact, Williams confirmed last Friday that the transaction that landed Johnson in Brooklyn was the final deciding factor that persuaded him to ultimately agree to a five year, $98 million deal with the Nets at the last minute, as opposed to signing with his hometown Dallas Mavericks, who were his only other option.

“I was really close to going to Dallas,” said Williams. “I actually thought that’s where I was going to go. I had the meetings and it kind of changed my mind because once I got out of the meeting with Dallas and saw the way they were going and the team they were putting out there and I saw that we just made a trade for Joe Johnson and I felt like that team for a longer time would be the better team.

“Joe got me over the hump. I’ve never played with anybody like him, a guy on the wing that can get his own shot and also get me involved and is a great defender. We could be one of the top backcourts in the NBA for sure.”

This is exactly what owner Mikhail Prokhorov envisioned when he bought majority stake in the Nets back in September of 2009 and provided nearly half of the funds for the Barclays Center project that would make Brooklyn their new home.

While many of their diehard fans initially refused to look at the purchase as anything more than another investment for a Russian billionaire who only aspired to become even wealthier in the long run, Prokhorov has continued to open his wallet in hopes of building a championship-contending team for years to come.

“For us, it’s very important they [Nets fans] trust in us,” he told reporters back in April at the Barclays Center construction site. “And I’ll do my best. I’m very committed.”

When asked later about the job statuses of both Nets general manager Billy King and head coach Avery Johnson, Prokhorov continued to express a great deal of support for them despite the team’s atrocious 46-102 overall record over the past two seasons since the two joined the organization back in 2010.

“I think Billy and Avery, they are doing great job,” Prokhorov said. “We have a common view, not only on the day-to-day routine but on our strategic goal. Just to have a championship team we need to be global view, strategic view and you need to have the common knowledge of how to reach this.”

“So from my point of view, we have a great team spirit and we need a little bit of luck, because the team is very professional, and I hope next season we’ll be much, much better than the previous two,” he added.

A severe lack of talent more than plagued King and Johnson during their time in Newark. Now that the franchise enters a new era in its history and will spend an exorbitant sum of money to bring in a trio that has combined for a total of nine All Star appearances in Williams, Johnson and Wallace, King and Johnson suddenly believe that if they’re able to add a few solid complementary pieces – or possibly even Dwight Howard – they can make their way back to the Finals.

With King as G.M., the 2000-2001 Philadelphia 76ers made it as far as the NBA Finals before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers and their all-time great duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. His tenure in Philly lasted almost nine seasons.

Meanwhile, the climax of Johnson’s nearly four-year run as Mavericks coach was the 2005-2006 season, when he led them to the Finals before losing four straight to the Miami Heat after winning the first two games of the series.

Johnson did win a title in 1999 during his playing days with the San Antonio Spurs, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t just as hungry as Williams, Johnson and Wallace, who are still ring-less.

It appears as though when you mix a couple of years of patience by Prokhorov, King and Johnson, the formulation of what will inevitably be referred to as a ‘Big Three,’ and a relocation to the enormous market that is New York City, this is what you get: the Nets with a realistic ambition of reaching the Finals for the first time since their glory years of 2002 and 2003.

To the Nets fans and the borough of Brooklyn – which has been wrongfully deprived of a major sports franchise since the Dodgers flew 3,000 miles to Los Angeles 55 years ago – welcome back.

Image Courtesy of   Brooklyn Nets

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The trade deadline has come and gone and not a single meaningful shot was fired. In fact, the shot not heard meant the most to the league and to those who followed every word anticipating big changes in Orlando.

Dwight Howard, the big fish in the small pond chose to stay and opt-in the early termination clause of his contract. The process says more about the perennial all-star than the eventual outcome but what matters more is the impact his decision will have on free agency after the 12-13 season.

The team that Howard had been linked to for the last two years had been the New Jersey Nets, soon to be the Brooklyn Nets. A lot was expected from the Nets but things have not gone according to plan since the Russian billionaire took over — Mikhail Prokhorov came in and raised expectations for the franchise but it was clear things wouldn’t be as easy as he might have expected.

From Carmelo to Lebron, the Nets have swung and missed and now with Dwight choosing to stay because of his loyalty (as he puts it), the Nets are wandering through the NBA without a great amount of options.

Derron Williams will not follow Howard and sign his early termination clause, instead opting to test free agency in the off season and most likely leave to another franchise. The biggest competition at this early stage in the process is the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavericks will be without Jason Kidd who at this point is keeping the seat warm for a younger more dynamic guard in the mold of Williams. They will be in a great position given their cap situation to acquire the 26-year-old guard leaving the Nets without a marque star in Brooklyn.

The Nets will have the financial advantage in that they will be in the position to offer Williams twenty eight million more than any other team can offer. However; something tells me money won’t be the determining factor in his decision. The Nets can add pieces via free agency and the draft but it remains to be seen if it will match a potential Dirk Nowitzki/Williams combo. Not to mention the many other teams who will throw their hats in the ring for his services.

There was much excitement early on but that feeling has been replaced by disappointment and maybe even panic. The stadium is already making its presence felt in downtown Brooklyn and the people of Brooklyn are excited about having a team again but things are not looking good in terms of star power in the big city.

With the Knicks struggling at times, the opportunity is there or at least was there for the Nets to make an impact and at least become part of the conversation. The names are drying up and all that money won’t mean nothing if no one wants to come and play.

At this point it doesn’t really matter what Howard does two years from now in free agency — if it even gets to that point, chances are Williams will be gone and coming to Brooklyn to play by himself for Howard wouldn’t make much sense. Sure other big names will become available but given the track record of the Nets under Prokhorov, fans of the team should prepare for a lot more swings with many more misses.

Image Courtesy of    https://www.facebook.com/NetsBasketball

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Boris Gryzlov, a close ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, is stepping down from his post as speaker of the lower house of Russia’s parliament, their political party said on Wednesday. However, he will keep his executive position in Putin’s United Russia party.

Gryzlov resigned after fraud allegations came out during the parliamentary elections in early December. These allegations gave way to the biggest anti-government protests seen in twenty years. Gryzlov believes he achieved a lot of what he set out to do during his eight years in the Duma. He plans to continue leading the political party’s supreme council and stated that he is, “ready to accept a post determined by the president.”

The candidate that will be Gryzlov’s replacement will be nominated next Saturday. Tens of thousands of people protested against the results of the election on Saturday that brought Putin’s United Russia party to power again. There was an estimated 25,000 protesters in Moscow, the police said, but organizers said there were 40,000.

Whether the police are correct or the organizers, either number would qualify as the largest protest in the Russian capital in two decades. The protesters believe the election results were rigged and were not afraid to protest in freezing temperatures in other Russian cities as well.

They shouted, “Putin out!” Another protest is scheduled to occur on Christmas Eve, December 24, which will be three days after the new parliament holds its first session. After a day of protests, President Dmitry Medvedev said he wanted the allegations to be investigated. The statement on his Facebook page read, “I agree neither with the slogans nor the statements voiced at the protests.

Nevertheless, I have ordered checks into all the reports from polling stations, regarding the compliance with the election laws.” Many people criticized his post on Facebook. “It’s awful,” Elena Panina wrote. “Really. He was drunk when he wrote that, or he didn’t read what he wrote. … What slogans does our president disagree with? ‘We are for fair elections?’”

Some pro-government demonstrators came out on Monday, but their numbers were not as vast as the protesters that showed during the weekend. Mikhail Prokhorov, a Russian billionaire that owns the New Jersey Nets basketball team, announced on Monday that he will run for president of Russia next year.

There was some speculation as to whether he was going to run with the Kremlin’s tactic backing, to make people believe that there was a real contest for president, or whether he genuinely wants to defeat Putin.

Mark III Photonics / Shutterstock.com

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