EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Vince Carter had one rousing dunk in his final game at IZOD Center, gave the fans who cheered him for four-plus seasons one last reason to buzz.

Some of the same fans may make the trip down the Turnpike or Route 21 when the Nets play their home games at the Prudential Center in Newark for the next two seasons.

But now that Carter said his farewell there is only one player left of consequence in Nets’ history to say goodbye to Meadowlands. Richard Jefferson comes in at the end of the month with the Spurs and chances are he will enjoy the same results as Carter, Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, Jason Collins and Brian Scalabrine have this season.

On a subpar night for Carter and Dwight Howard -- they combined for 24 points -- the Magic had an easy 97-87 victory

Projecting where LeBron James is going to play next season is a fun game unless you’re a Cleveland Cavaliers’ fan or anyone involved in the organization. They keep seeing and reading how James is going to New York or Brooklyn via Newark.

James plays his final game in East Rutherford tomorrow, so we’re going to play the game again. It won’t be the last time we do it. That's for sure.

The popular opinion is the Cavaliers are the front runners, with the Knicks second, the Nets third and Miami a dark horse candidate for James, although basketball people question whether he and Dwyane Wade could play together since they both need the ball.

Plus James would be going to join Wade instead of them going somewhere together – for instance New York. If James left the

The trade deadline came and the Nets passed on doing anything, but they could feel the impact by what other teams did -– not this season, but this summer.

The first big move came last night when the Cavaliers acquired former All-Star forward Antawn Jamison. That transaction served multiple purposes: Jamison could help the Cavaliers’ championship dreams and may be the piece that keeps the Nets’ top target, LeBron James, in Cleveland.

Jamison isn’t a dominant player like Amar’e Stoudemire, for whom the Cavaliers were also in talks. But Jamison is a good complement to James. Jamison plays on the perimeter and will bury teams if they double James and Shaquille O’Neal. Add a healthy Mo Williams and the Cavaliers are in great shape now and in the future.

Forty-one down, and with 41 to go there is little reason for hope for the Nets. But here are six things to look forward to:

1. Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov should take over soon: Let the spending begin

2. Proky will want to make a big splash: Could mean a big deal if he’s here before the trade deadline

3. The season will mercifully end at some point -- with the futility mark or just an awful record

4. The Draft Lottery: When you’re this bad you have to get the No. 1 pick. If the Nets don’t after this    season the system really needs to change.

5. The Draft: Could be a great day if they get John Wall and don’t rule out a trade since they usually are active on this day

6. Free Agency: Could be successful, but also could turn out to be

Trading season opened for the Nets on Tuesday night. They were minor, but represented their first roster moves they made since drafting Terrence Williams on June 25, 2009.

It may only be the beginning of a busy six-plus weeks for Nets’ management.

The Nets are in search of young players on good deals, expiring contracts and draft picks. They acquired all three last night before another embarrassing loss, this time a 98-76 blowout against Milwaukee, ending their seven-game homestand with a 1-6 mark.

Chris Quinn, a never-used point guard in Miami, was acquired along with a 2012 second-round pick and cash for a 2010 second-rounder that will never leave the Nets' hands. It’s protected 31-50 and the way things are going the Nets will own the No. 31 pick.

Before that was finalized

The Nets showed some of the things they promised before the season began in last night's 104-95 win over the Knicks.

They played defense, scored in transition, had energy for 48 minutes, outworked and outhustled their opponent. It also helped that they had their starting five playing together for the first time since Oct. 30.

Maybe this is the start of something. It definitely was the end of a couple of things: their 10-game losing streak and their 2009 schedule. It was a crazy year and decade for them.

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