Former Magic trio starting from scratch in New Jersey

While the Orlando Magic were crushing the Sixers in their season opener on Wednesday, the New Jersey Nets were blowing a 19-point lead in Minnesota.

Yes, things are a little different these days for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee. The three players that were sent to New Jersey in exchange for Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson went from a Finals team with a 23-year-old centerpiece to a lottery team that just traded its best player. And when the Magic visit the Nets on Friday night, they'll get a good look at what they're missing out on.

The three each had key roles in the Magic's ascension. Lee became a starter midway through last season, Alston kept the team from breaking stride after Jameer Nelson was lost to a shoulder injury, and Battie has served as a "big brother" to Dwight Howard since both arrived in Orlando in 2004.

For their efforts, they were sent packing on draft day this past June.

After the Lakers put the Magic away in Game 5 of the Finals, Hedo Turkoglu's impending free agency created some uncertainty about what the Orlando roster might look like come October. But no one in that locker room could have predicted the amount of changes that general manager Otis Smith eventually made.

Lee, the rookie, was admittedly shocked and hurt by the news of the trade.

"It probably took a month, month-and-a-half, really, to get it all out of my system and then focus on this team," he said.

Alston, a 10-year vet who has been traded three times and is now playing for his sixth team, took it in stride.

"I pretty much thought I'd be moved again," he said. "With a team that just went to the Finals, you would love to just be back to give it another shot. But if that wasn't happening, I knew that I would probably be moved again."

Now, they're starting over with a team that lost 48 games last season and is expected to lose more this time around.

For Lee, his new team presents a new opportunity. He was a starter in Orlando and would eventually have taken on a bigger offensive role there, but he was basically the fifth option on the floor. The trade thrusts him into a role as a main scoring option and as part of a promising core of young players in New Jersey.

"He can sort of reintroduce himself and reinvent himself as an NBA player," says backcourt-mate Devin Harris, who underwent a very similar transformation and became an All-Star after being traded for Jason Kidd. "He's allowed to do more things here and I think he fully realizes that. And as the year goes on, I think you'll see him break out of his shell."

The Nets are going to struggle this season. If you had any doubts about that, just fire up League Pass Broadband and watch the fourth quarter of that game from Wednesday. But with Harris, Lee, Brook Lopez, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Yi Jianlian, Terrence Williams and a huge amount of cap space this summer, they have a lot of long-term promise. And with a potential new big-spending owner and arena on the horizon, things will surely improve for the Nets.

For now, Alston and Battie are also needed. With Keyon Dooling still recovering from hip surgery, Alston will get 20-25 minutes per game spelling and playing alongside Devin Harris, pushing the tempo and running the offense. Battie, with his experience, could be valuable as a back-up center on a team that desperately needs help on the frontline, but he's currently out with knee tendinitis.

As a group, Alston, Battie and Lee not only give the Nets postseason experience, but they also give them three pieces of the best defensive team in the league last season. The Nets ranked 23rd defensively and improvement on that end of the floor was Lawrence Frank's top priority in training camp. So it helps to have a few guys who he knows will make it a priority as well.

"They've been very well coached," Frank says. "Especially defensively, it's an easier adjustment when they understand concepts."

Alston says that there's no comparison between the way Frank and Magic coach Stan Van Gundy run practices (hint: more yelling from the guy with the mustache), but that the two coaches share the same basketball ideologies.

"[They have the] same way of thinking how the game should be played," Alston says. "Total difference in the voice."

Of course, the reason that Alston and Battie were included in the draft-day deal is the same reason that they may not last the season in New Jersey. They both have expiring deals and neither is likely to be a part of the Nets' long-term plans. Come February, they'll both be more valuable to a championship contender than to the Nets.

For now, they'll do the best that they can with what they have in New Jersey and try not to think too much about what might have been if they stayed in Orlando.

"You go to the highest stage, and now you feel like you're starting from the bottom again," Alston says. "But we have a lot of talented guys. We have guys that, if they're willing to listen and learn and grasp everything as we go, you never know. We could shock not only the people around the league, we could shock ourselves."

John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here.The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.

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