The New Jersey Nets began the 2nd half season on the right track yesterday by defeating the Dallas Mavericks. The Nets were not expected to beat the Mavs especially since the Nets have lost the last 11 meetings against the Mavericks. Brook Lopez dominated the game with a 38 point outing.

The Nets are trying to make one final push to try to be an 8 seed in the playoffs. This comes amongst a number of distractions that are plaguing the Nets. The Nets are trying to attempt a trade that would involve Brook Lopez to Orlando for Dwight Howard. If Dwight Howard comes to New Jersey, there is a good chance that the Nets All Star soon to be free agent point guard Deron Williams will stay with the team this offseason.

The Nets are moving to Brooklyn this summer and a Deron Williams-Dwight Howard duo would be quite the combo. The problem that the Nets are facing is what if Dwight Howard is not traded to New Jersey. This means that Deron Williams will most likely explore his free agent possibilities this summer. Teams such as the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers will be chasing after him and who would want to play for New Jersey when you have the possibility of playing with future hall of famers like Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant? Rumors have swirled across the NBA saying that Dwight Howard will go wherever Deron Williams goes, so Deron may possibly be playing on a Miami Heat style trio with Deron, Kobe, and Dwight or maybe even Deron, Dirk, or Dwight. Either way, it would be a no-win situation for the Nets.

All and all, Nets fans are truly hoping that the Orlando Magic front office saw what Brook Lopez did last night to the Dallas Mavericks. Nets fans want Dwight Howard badly so they can move to Brooklyn along with Deron Williams and they can drift off into being a competitive team again. Nets fans would love to have a rivalry with the New York Knicks especially since Jeremy Lin has pretty much saved the Knicks franchise.

The trade deadline is March 15th and it will be an interesting outlook on what will happen on deadline day.

When Mikhail Prokhorov bought the New Jersey Nets he immediately envisioned a five-year plan to make this team a title contender. To make Prokhorov’s vision a reality general manager Billy King has acted swiftly.

During his 10-year tenure (1997-2007) in Philadelphia, King built a team that went to five consecutive playoff appearances (1999-2003) and won an Eastern Conference Championship in 2001. King made two important trades that netted starting power forward Tyrone Hill and starting center Dikembe Mutombo to pair with MVP Allen Iverson during the team’s 2001 NBA Finals appearance.

On February 23, 2011 King capitalized on the diminishing relationship between the Utah Jazz, and superstar point guard Deron Williams. King made the boldest trade of his career trading former All-Star point guard Devin Harris, former 2010 third overall draft pick Derrick Favors, two first-round picks, and cash to the Jazz for Williams. Harris has struggled mightily in Utah, Favors is a backup power forward behind Paul Millsap, and Williams is an unrestricted free agent after the season with no guarantee he’ll make the move to Brooklyn with the Nets.

After acquiring Williams, King has put role players around Williams, as he once did with Iverson, in the hopes of building another contender. King traded the draft rights to JaJuan Johnson and a 2014 second-round pick to the Boston Celtics for the draft rights to starting shooting guard MarShon Brooks, who was selected to the Rising Stars Challenge for All-Star Weekend. King then re-signed power forward Kris Humphries to a one-year deal that provides nightly double-doubles for this season and cap space flexibility for the future. Finally, King traded for Utah Jazz center Mehmet Okur after Brook Lopez was injured as a quick fix replacement in the final year of his deal.

Now King is working on another bold move that could change the landscape of the Eastern Conference and give the Nets a “superhero” for years to come in Brooklyn. King is in discussions with the Orlando Magic and other teams to put Dwight Howard in a Nets uniform. If King can trade some of the role players he’s assembled around Williams he’ll form a dynamic duo that would be this generation’s newest Stockton-to-Malone combination.

The Timberwolves have improved thanks to the pairing of international sensation Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love. The Clippers have become a legitimate title contender thanks to the arrival of Chris Paul to pair with human highlight reel Blake Griffin in “lob city.” The Knicks have been rejuvenated by the revelation of Jeremy Lin to work the pick-and-roll with Amare Stoudemire, who thrived in Phoenix thanks to MVP point guard Steve Nash.

King is trying to continue the trend of dynamic pick-and-roll duos with the Nets and form possibly the best of the tandems in Deron Williams and Dwight Howard. King’s career, the future of Brooklyn, and the futures of Deron Williams and Dwight Howard all rest on potentially the most important trade discussions of the season.

If King can land Dwight Howard Prokhorov’s proclamation will have added validity and Brooklyn will eagerly anticipate the arrival of their first “superheroes” since the beloved Dodgers left town.

Follow me on Twitter: @MikeAScotto

Once again the Nets are at the center of trade rumors. This time DeMarcus Cousins is the target, but what are the chances he joins the team? The answer is slim to none.

Nets GM Billy King knows he must do everything in his power to keep superstar guard Deron Williams happy and lock him up for the trip to Brooklyn and beyond. To keep the current face of the franchise the Nets must win now and surround Williams with more talent.

Cousins is a talented rebounder and good inside post scorer, but his immaturity and public disputes with the Sacramento Kings have proven that he’s a head case. This is the second incident involving Cousins’ lack of discipline after he was kicked out of practice by the team last season.

King and the Nets are better served putting all their eggs into the Dwight Howard basket. The Nets can offer young talent, expiring contracts, draft picks, and are willing to absorb players like Hedo Turkoglu and Chris Duhon to facilitate a deal.

This is a developing story that will surround the team until the trade dealine.

Follow me on Twitter: @MikeAScotto

A successful NBA point guard must be a leader, have good court vision, and make quick decisions. Nets guard Deron Williams fits this description both on and off the court. On the court, Williams has averaged twenty points and ten assists per game in his six seasons in the league. Off the court, Williams pioneered playing overseas for players during the lockout.

On July 15, Williams cemented his pioneer status by becoming the first high profile player to take his talents overseas amidst an uncertain NBA labor situation. A move that was first deemed hasty now appears to be a stroke of genius. Williams was a visionary who made a quick decision to jump ship once he saw the labor negotiations starting to sink.

Williams signed a one-year contract with Besiktas for $5 million that allows him to return to the NBA if the work stoppage ends. The move protected Williams from some financial losses, but not against injury to his surgically repaired wrist. Now however, as the NBA is entering a “nuclear winter,” according to commissioner David Stern, Williams is blowing up the scoreboard in Turkey with a healthy wrist and getting paid to play the game he loves.