Billy King’s season-ending session with the media Wednesday covered everything from his recent hand procedure to next week’s surgery to remove a calcium deposit in Brook Lopez’s right arm.

That’s not the only cutting expected to happen with the Nets this offseason.

To King, the Nets' general manager, the stated goal next year is to make the playoffs. It should be. The Nets have a superstar now, and having Deron Williams healthy is a great first step to that end. But there needs to be a roster overhaul to go from a 24-win team to one that sees the postseason.

There is no doubt overall that the Nets made strides from last season. They built a foundation for the future as they doubled their win total from a year ago. They probably should have had a few more wins,

The Nets ended the first season of the Mikhail Prokhorov/Avery Johnson/Billy King era with 24-58 record after a tough, hard-fought 97-92 loss to Chicago Bulls last night.

The Nets doubled last year’s win total but still have plenty of work to do to become not only a playoff team, but a championship contender as Prokhorov promised. The next phase of that process begins now, but here’s a look back at that first year.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Naturally, if Deron Williams would have been with the Nets all season, it would have been him. He proved that in his 12 games as a Net. But for the duration of the season, it was Kris Humphries. He did it all for the Nets in terms of defense, dirty work, physical play and rebounding and finished the season with career-high averages of 10.0

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Brook Lopez was unstoppable. Never mind that he still wasn’t a presence on the boards. The Nets’ big man was a giant man in the middle on offense and was taking advantage of his size against the Pistons.

Lopez appeared to be on his way to a 50-point night, should have had mid 40s easily and the Nets should have enjoyed what would have been one of their most gratifying wins of the season instead of a 116-109 loss.

But the ball stopped going to Lopez. Just stopped. The Pistons went zone, fronted Lopez, did everything to make sure he didn’t get the ball, but the Nets still have to get the ball to Lopez and let him operate. This was a night when Lopez was operating.

He took the ball from the baseline and went inside and scored. He tried to dunk

CLEVELAND – Kris Humphries was in the locker room talking to his teammates and said nothing ever comes easy for the Nets.

He’s right.

The Nets were shorthanded, missing Deron Williams and then lost backup Sundiata Gaines in the first quarter with a hip injury and nearly lost the game to the NBA’s worst team, the Cavaliers, who were without arguably their three best players.

But the Nets found a way to outlast Cleveland, winning 98-94 in overtime in an ugly game that wound up being very rewarding for New Jersey.

“Hump was just saying nothing comes easy for us,” Brook Lopez said. “It makes it that much better. We’re definitely working for everyone one of these.”

This was the Nets’ ninth game that went to at least one overtime –

NEWARK, N.J. – Deron Williams made a triumphant return to the Nets Monday night and showed once again what they’ve been missing since Jason Kidd left the team.

The Nets have a superstar, a closer with a will to win that’s impressive, and his teammates have no other choice but to follow him.

They did it in what was easily the Nets’ best win in a few years as they leveled the East’s top team, the Boston Celtics, 88-79, before the second consecutive sellout at The Rock.

It wasn’t just Williams, just like it wasn’t just Kidd back then. But their presence lifts everyone around them. This was the Nets’ fifth straight win -- their most since the 2007-08 season -- when Kidd was still steering the ship.

It says a lot that the Nets won two of the

The Nets are finishing the first half in fitting fashion. After closing out their home schedule against the best team in the Western Conference and the NBA, they play the best team in the Eastern Conference on Wednesday.

It’s a fitting conclusion. Nothing ever comes easy for the Nets. Not games, not trade talks, not drafting, not the development of their players.

Never mind their history. Just look at how things have gone since the end of last season, when things were supposed to change for this group, through Monday night’s loss to the Spurs.

The Nets didn’t win the lottery despite losing 70 games. They didn’t get any of their free agent targets. They made a big trade to get Troy Murphy, who's been a big bust. Brook Lopez hasn’t become the player everyone

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Brook Lopez was the best offensive player on the floor in the first half last night, but there still was something missing from his game and Nets coach Avery Johnson told him without really saying anything.

Johnson made a circle with his hand and put it over his eye, signaling to Lopez he had not grabbed a single defensive rebound in the half. Zero - which contributed to the Grizzlies registering 10 second-chance points.

If not for that, some turnovers and too many fouls early, the Nets might have been on their way to an easy victory. Nothing ever is easy for the Nets, but they did come out with 101-94 victory, showing tremendous focus and confidence amid rumors and speculation that the team would be broken up in the near future.

None of that mattered to Lopez,

TORONTO – The Nets played another winnable game, another one they could have had if only they executed late or had someone who could make a big shot or stop.

That’s the difference between winning and losing, especially in a game like this one, against the Raptors, who no longer have a perennial All-Star now that Chris Bosh has taken his talents to South Beach.

But the Raptors had the best player in the building on this night, far and away. And they executed much better down the stretch. The Nets, of course, have something to do with that. They usually have a way of making teams look better than they really are.

The Nets did that in their 98-92 loss to the Raptors on Friday night. They let Andrea Bargnani completely and utterly dominate the game with 32 points and nine rebounds.

NEWARK – The Nets absolutely needed an opponent like the Washington Wizards to come to the Prudential Center on Thursday night. The timing couldn’t have been better for a team that hadn’t seen a win since late November.

The Nets’ first victory of December came against Washington, 97-89, ending their eight-game losing streak.

There were some scary moments for the Nets in this game and some boos from the crowd that was cheering the home team throughout the first half.

The Nets rung up a 23-point lead on the Wizards in the first half and it appeared they would have a rare easy victory, especially the way Washington was playing. The Wizards had 38 points, were shooting 31 percent and their 11 field goals were three fewer than their turnover total.

But the Nets couldn't