Given all that, the Nets faced a very difficult choice this summer when forward Kenyon Martin became a free agent. Martin made his first All-Star appearance this February, but is pretty clearly not a go-to player, averaging no better than 16.7 points per game during his career. Still, given Martin's reputation and the nature of the free-agent market, he got lucrative contract offers. The Nets would have had the opportunity to match, and used this as a bargaining chip to eventually force the Denver Nuggets to surrender three draft picks for Martin in a sign-and-trade deal. (It's pretty quickly becoming evident in Denver that Martin is not a go-to player; he's averaging just 12.7 points.)

Like most of the Nets moves, the Martin deal fundamentally came down to finances. (Cue "For the Love of Money" by the O'Jays.) New principal owner Bruce Ratner slashed the payroll, forcing CEO Thorn to essentially sell New Jersey's first-round pick to Portland. It was curious, however, that Thorn chose to spend what money he did have signing forward Richard Jefferson and forward/center Jason Collins to long-term extensions and sign, besides forward Eric Williams, several lightly-pursued free agents (Jacque Vaughn, Ron Mercer, Rodney Buford).

With Jason Kidd out of the lineup until at least December following off-season knee surgery, the Nets have been forced to lean heavily on Jefferson, a role he's simply not well suited for at the moment. New Jersey has gotten a boost from the surprising return of center Alonzo Mourning from kidney problems, but the Nets still are fiercely battling Golden State for the dubious honor of the NBA's worst offense, shooting a paltry 38.6% from the field and averaging nearly 20 turnovers. The Nets have gotten two wins against the lowly 0-5 Bulls and the Portland Trial Blazers (in a 64-60 ugly-fest), but sit 2-5 and in last place in the Atlantic thus far.

And your Seattle SuperSonics? They kept rolling with a 103-95 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday, their seventh straight win. To find a longer Sonics win streak than that, you have to stretch all the way back to the 1997-98 season. The Sonics can't expect to consistently hit 18 3-pointers in 39 attempts, but the way the Sixers played defense encouraged the Sonics to bomb away and they took full advantage. The Sonics are playing their first set of back-to-back road games of the season, and may need to win ugly against the Nets. With Reggie Evans and Danny Fortson, they have the personnel to do it.

G U A R D S
	As a rookie, Croatian Zoran Planinic was a flop. He started the season as Kidd's backup, but was replaced by journeymen when he struggled under defensive pressure. Like many big European point guards, Planinic is a questionable ballhandler who is in the NBA's top ten in turnovers per 48 minutes this season. His assist/turnover ratio is barely above one, which is unacceptable for an NBA point guard. However, Planinic has been more of a scoring threat this year, averaging 8.9 points per game and scoring a career-high 16 on Saturday. Luke Ridnour is finding his niche as a distributor. Over his last three games, Ridnour is averaging 8.3 assists per game.
	Jefferson thrived as the Nets second option offense last season, averaging a career-high 18.5 points per game on outstanding 49.8% shooting. Jefferson, like Martin, benefited from Kidd's ability to find shooters in position to score. This year, Jefferson's scoring average is up to 22.1 points per game (and he's suddenly become one of the league's top rebounding perimeter players, averaging 10.0 per game, though due mostly to a 21-board outburst against the Bulls), but his shooting percentage has plummeted to 38.3% and he's averaging 5.7 turnovers per game, a record pace. Seeing Jefferson struggle to create his own shot should make Sonics fans appreciate Ray Allen all the more. Few shooters in NBA history have done that as well as Allen, who is third in the league in scoring at 27.4 points per game without sacrificing any efficiency, shooting 51.7% from the field and 59.6% from downtown.
F O R W A R D S
	While Williams is a valuable role player who played a big role in Cleveland's development into a contending team last season, his addition to the Nets was odd because both he and Jefferson are naturally small forwards. Williams opened the year as the league's smallest power forward before Nets Coach Lawrence Frank went big, moving Jefferson to off guard. Williams really struggled with his shooting in the paint against bigger power forwards, and he's shooting 28.6% thus far. But he's a quality defender who presents the Nets a good matchup against Sonics forward Rashard Lewis. Lewis got back in the 20-point column against Philadelphia, scoring 21.
	While Collins has started on two straight Atlantic champions, he was a surprising extension this summer. Collins averaged just 5.9 points and 5.1 rebounds last year, shooting 42.4%. In tandem with his twin Jarron (of the Utah Jazz), Jason has gotten off to a fast shooting start (55.2%; Jarron is shooting 70.0%). But both players are also non-factors on the boards. Jason is averaging just 6.4 rebounds per 48 minutes. By contrast, Sonics forward Reggie Evans is averaging 16.1 rebounds per 48 minutes, putting him in the NBA's top ten. Evans has grabbed double-digit rebounds in four of his last five games.
C E N T E R
	Mourning entered the year having played just 12 games in the last two seasons, and it appeared his career was over when he left the Nets because of kidney issues last November. But a kidney transplant has allowed him to return to the league, and Mourning has been very effective thus far. Since moving into the starting lineup, Mourning has averaged 15.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks - not tremendously far from his averages during his All-Star prime. Mourning is auditioning as he hopes another team will take on his large contract so he can play for a contender. Philadelphia's frontcourt presented a tough matchup for Jerome James, who played only 11 minutes. He should be more effective against Mourning.
B E N C H
	Enumclaw High School grad and one-time Highline Community College star Brian Scalabrine (right) has emerged as New Jersey's top reserve this season, playing both forward positions. Scalabrine has enough size to battle down low but also decent touch from the perimeter. Vaughn lost his starting point guard job but is sharing backup minutes with Travis Best, another former starting point guard who landed with the Nets. Aaron Williams, who found a home in New Jersey after two years with the Sonics, backs up Mourning. The Sonics bench continues to give the team a lift. Tuesday night it was primarily Vladimir Radmanovic (left), who scored 20 points and tied his career high with six three-pointers. Antonio Daniels chipped in 19 points on outstanding 8-for-10 shooting. Both players give the Sonics starting-caliber talents in reserve. Danny Fortson didn't put up big numbers as the refs again watched him closely, but he helped tighten up the Sonics defense when he was in the game. Nick Collison saw only limited action as the Sonics went small because of the Philadelphia defense, but was effective on the glass.

TEAM LEADERS ALLEN JEFERSON Allen 27.4 PPG Jefferson 22.1 Evans 9.5 RPG Jefferson 10.0 Ridnour 6.9 APG Jefferson 4.1 Ridnour 1.8 SPG Planinic 1.1 James 1.5 BPG Mourning 2.9 Allen/Lewis 39.5 MPG Jefferson 42.1