This would have been a nice sendoff for Nets principal owner Mikhail Prokhorov, who flew back to Russia last night.

He already was seen as a conquering hero by the NBA community for swooping in Wednesday and announcing the Nets were done playing by Denver’s rules, done with the protracted trade talks for Carmelo Anthony that were played out in the public and taking back control of the Nets.

All of that may have had something to do with how the Nets have played on this five-game home stand. They played relaxed and carefree. They won the first two games on Prokhorov’s stay and came within six seconds of their first three-game winning streak since late January/early February 2009. But the Nets couldn’t close out the Mavericks and suffered a seemingly gut-wrenching

Mikhail Prokhorov’s impact on the Nets hasn’t been felt entirely yet. By now, many thought he would have been able to use his money to attract a top-flight NBA player, but he still has time and Carmelo Anthony is still out there.

Anyway, for some reason the Nets seem to like when Prokhorov is in the Prudential Center, sitting above the court in his luxury box and looking down upon them. He was up there last night for the sixth time this season and the Nets won for the fifth time.

More importantly, their 89-74 victory over the Pistons gave the Nets 12 wins. Some teams had that before Thanksgiving. But the fact that the Nets reached that mark while snow still is on the ground and some people still have their Christmas lights is a reason to believe this team is heading in a direction

Mikhail Prokhorov hasn’t spoken much since taking over as Nets owner last May, but when he has, the Russian billionaire has gotten everyone’s attention.

In his first comments, he said the Nets would make the playoffs in his first season as owner and win a championship in a maximum of five years. He also said he could convince the best of the best to join the Nets.

Even though the Nets didn’t get any of the best of the best free agents, Prokhorov still said the goal was to be a playoff team this season.

Now, he’s backtracked from that and obviously to this point he hasn’t delivered the best of the best, but he is still saying championship within five years and has everyone’s attention.

Everyone is talking about what he said yesterday, about him telling

On Russian Culture Night, Mikhail Prokhorov came to Newark and emphatically said, “Nyet” to the Denver Nuggets.

The Nets principal owner stunned members of his organization and the media when he announced before last night’s 103-95 victory over the Jazz that he instructed management to back out of talks for Carmelo Anthony.

This made the giant “Blueprint for Greatness” mural across from Madison Square Garden seem like a paint-by-numbers piece you frame and put in your child’s bedroom. This was Prokhorov showing he has had enough of reading and hearing about all the different things that were going on in the Anthony talks. This was a statement.

“I am not happy with the way the deal has gone until now,” he said. “It has taken too long.

The Nets ended their four-game West Coast road trip the same way they started it: with a loss and questions about Carmelo Anthony unanswered.

That’s how most road trips have gone for the Nets this season, most games for that matter. Their 109-100 defeat at Golden State was the Nets’ sixth loss in a row, 11th in 12 games and 19th in 20 road contests.

Wow. The Nets are better than last season, or I should say, more competitive than last season, but this does feel a little like last year all over again.

The truth is the Melo-drama has been overshadowing how bad the Nets are. But that's all Nets have going for them. It’s not the potential of their players; it’s the potential for the Nets to make a trade for a high-scoring small forward.

Is there any wonder why the

This is the way Brook Lopez should play every night. If the long-awaited trade for Carmelo Anthony gets done next week, the Nets center should have more opportunities to have games like last night.

The Nets didn’t beat the Lakers in Los Angeles -– did you expect they would? -– but at least Lopez responded after hardly playing in the fourth quarter and overtime Wednesday in Phoenix. And it was clear Lopez wasn’t happy about that.

But the third-year center, the lone player not made available in trade talks for Anthony, had 35 points, on 13-for-19 shooting, in the Nets’ 100-88 loss to Kobe Bryant and the two-time reigning champion Lakers.

Lopez still didn’t grab 10 rebounds –- he finished with six. But he played with a different attitude as he looked

Well, at least Brook Lopez and Devin Harris should be flattered that LeBron James thinks they belong in the NBA. But it certainly sounded as if James doesn’t think the Nets should be.

It’s probably too late for Jay-Z to get back his Christmas gift and card.

What James said last night to reporters in Phoenix isn’t wrong necessarily. There are too many NBA teams, and plenty of them aren’t good.

The league is watered down and some teams have too many stars – ahem, like the Heat - that make them powerhouses and others just fighting to stay afloat. Some probably should be contracted. But it was surprising that he singled out the Nets – and Timberwolves – when he was asked about the possibility of the league downsizing.

"Just imagine if you could

The losses just keep on piling up for the Nets, but they have to be considered a winner in the trade that will be announced Wednesday.

Long before the Nets lost their eighth straight game and perhaps shooting guard Anthony Morrow to a hamstring injury, they agreed on a three-team deal that brings them more assets and flexibility and they hope eventually Carmelo Anthony.

That’s getting way ahead, but Anthony factored in the Nets’ thinking when they made this deal.

Terrence Williams will be traded Wednesday to the Rockets for a protected first-round pick, and Joe Smith will go to the Lakers for shooter Sasha Vujacic and another first-round pick.

They will also save money when Vujacic’s deal expires next year, and Williams is signed through 2011-12. When it’s