Avery Johnson joked that when the time comes for the Nets to get something done with free agents, he’s like Mariano Rivera.
 
“They bring me in to close,” Johnson said today.
 
Johnson can give the final sales pitch – he ultimately decides how much a player plays. But the two biggest things for the Nets in their pursuit of any free agent are Mikhail Prokhorov’s fortune and Deron Williams’ future.
 
Williams declared his intentions yesterday, saying, “I plan to stay.” That should help the Nets lure some players. But the almighty millions could be the deciding factor.
 
The truth is the Nets are going to have to spend more than they probably would like in order to get Nene or Tyson Chandler or Caron Butler or even to bring Kris Humphries

After the Nets brought in draft pickups MarShon Brooks, Jordan Williams and Bogan Bogdanovic to meet the local media Monday, they promptly sent the ones that will be with them next season to California to work out.

This made perfect sense because of the labor situation. If there is a lockout -- as expected -- starting Friday there can be no contact between the players and the teams.

So Brooks and Williams flew to meet coach Avery Johnson and general manager Billy King at P3 in Santa Barbara for some training until they can’t talk to him anymore.

Brooks and Williams were given what the Nets want them to do this summer, what workouts, what things they need to improve on –- basically everything they should do to make sure they’re ready when the work stoppage ends and/or

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

As crazy as it may seem, the Nets still have an outside chance at the playoffs thank to their current four-game winning streak. Even crazier, Nets fans are going to have to root for the Knicks in some games, starting today.

Before fans get too hyped, the Nets are in 11th place, six games out of eighth as of this writing, and have to jump over four teams to earn an improbable postseason berth.

They have to do it with home games against the Celtics, Bulls, Knicks and Heat and road games at Orlando, Atlanta, New York and Chicago over the last 18 games.

But just as I’ve said a trade isn’t dead until the main player involved is traded, the Nets are not eliminated until they’re eliminated. It’s just going to take a lot of work and wins, and a lot of help from some

SAN ANTONIO – Mikhail Prokhorov attended his first Nets road game because he wanted to personally meet and welcome his new superstar point guard Deron Williams to the organization.

Prokhorov did the right thing by staying mostly out of the public eye and letting this night be all about Williams. Prokhorov had a private room at the AT&T Center, where he met Williams for the first time.

The Russian billionaire didn’t comment or gloat about the Nets’ big catch, even though he could have and some owners probably would have after some of the things that were written and said about Prokhorov’s inability to sell the biggest names on his team.

This night was about Williams, and in the Nets’ 106-96 loss to the Spurs, you could see what kind of impact he is going

The Nets trade for Deron Williams and almost everyone immediately looks at the negative: that he can opt out of his contract after next season and become a free agent.

Maybe it’s because we live in the metropolitan area and we’re taught to be cynical, but too many tweeters, bloggers, fans and writers are already saying Williams is gone after a year and a half, that he is a 1 ½-year rental.

Maybe it’s true, but let it play out first. That’s what Williams says, what the Nets say, and really what should be done. But in this world where everyone wants up-to-the-minute information and want to be the first to say, we always said he would never stay, just let it play out.

“I’m just looking forward to the opportunity right now,” Williams said

NEWARK, N.J. - The Nets will tell you this game is one of the reasons they’re moving out of New Jersey. They had their first full house of the season and most of the fans were cheering for the opposing team.

Naturally, there were more Knicks fans at The Rock. The Knicks fans always come out in droves in New Jersey. The Nets think it’s going to change when they move to Brooklyn, but that’s in the heart of Knicks’ country.

The only way, if there is a way, for the Nets to beat the Knicks is by beating them off the court. In other words, the Nets have to do whatever they can to make sure the Knicks don’t get Carmelo Anthony.

The Knicks didn’t have Amar’e Stoudemire last night and they handed the Nets a 105-95 loss at the Prudential Center that

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

The Nets have been here before, and not just this season.

They’re stuck in-limbo, seemingly exhausting every possibility as they wait for a deal to happen involving a superstar player, who because of his unhappiness and want for what could be green pastures has turned two franchises upside down.

Carmelo Anthony is doing what Jason Kidd did in 2008. The difference this time is the Nets are not acting from a position of strength because they’re not the one dealing the All-Star player.

Don’t get me wrong, the Nets have bargaining power. They have the assets Denver wants: draft picks, young players, the ability to trim salary to the point where the Nuggets don’t have to pay luxury tax.

But the Nuggets really have the final say on if the current three-team 14-to-16-player