Jefferson

The suddenly cost-conscious Nets have invested a lot of money in Richard Jefferson, in effect choosing him over Kenyon Martin, who was traded to Denver for three first-round picks. The Nets multi-year commitment to Jefferson demands that he take a leadership role, earn an All-Star berth or two and perform during crunch time.

His erratic Olympic performance notwithstanding, Jefferson has shown he's capable of leading a team in the playoffs, averaging 21.0 points in the Nets seven-game series against the Pistons' suffocating defense.

Kerry Kittles, Rodney Rogers and Lucious Harris are gone now, and someone on this team besides Jason Kidd needs to provide the Nets a perimeter threat. The great ones continually improve their games, and for Jefferson to be included in that group, he needs to extend his shooting range and give the opposition another reason to fear him.

Kidd

Departed Kenyon Martin made the Nets go with his intensity and ferocity, attributes they'll miss unless Alonzo Mourning can contribute. Following a kidney transplant, Mourning will attempt a comeback in training camp. Should he falter, Net fans might be seeing a lot more of Brian Scalabrine.

President and CEO Rod Thorn admits that the Nets won't be as good as they've been the last three years, but any team that employs Kidd can't be taken lightly. The league's assist leader (9.2 apg) gets the most out of his teammates and is still a triple-double threat every time he takes the floor. He and the versatile Jefferson, who averaged 18.5 ppg, are a formidable duo.

After Kidd, Jefferson and Mourning, centers Aaron Williams (6.3 points per game) and Jason Collins (5.9) are the top returning scorers. Others will have to emerge. The most likely candidate is veteran forward Ron Mercer (13.9 career scoring average), who has been buried for two seasons on deep rosters in San Antonio and Indiana.

Free agent signee Eric Williams was money well spent. A hard-working, defensive-minded forward, Williams emerged as a team leader in Boston and in Cleveland.

Lawrence Frank worked wonders last year, winning his first 13 games after stepping in for Byron Scott. But with gaping holes at shooting guard and, potentially, at power forward, his team will do well to still be playing meaningful games in April.