Nets begin new era in Brooklyn
NEW YORK — MarShon Brooks stood wearing his brand-new uniform in front of a green screen on the Brooklyn Nets’ practice court, screwing up his face and making kissy lips at the camera.
He stopped, then puckered up again for another take that will eventually introduce the “Kiss Cam” at the Barclays Center.
It was a fitting visual for a day the Nets formally kicked off what they hope will be a love affair with the New York City borough that hasn’t had major professional sports since the Dodgers left town in 1957.
So much has changed in sports and Brooklyn since then that 55-year old baseball references hardly seem relevant. One thing has stayed the same, though: Fans still want to support a winner, even in the borough of “Dem Bums” and “Wait ‘til Next Year.”
So can the Nets provide? Maybe.
Coach Avery Johnson is going to try to have a team the borough’s residents can approve of even without star-studded rosters like those belonging to the Los Angeles Lakers or the defending champion Miami Heat.
“We want to be a team that takes on the personality of Brooklyn, which is a hard-working community,” Johnson said. “I’ve always believed in teams that had that type of personality.”
Even though the borough has become better known lately for being home to a population of mustachioed slackers making artisanal foodstuffs while cable TV series shoot in the background, it’s still very much a diverse, blue-collar town.
With a population of 2.5 million, if Brooklyn were its own city, it would be bigger than every NBA town but Chicago, Los Angeles and, well, New York itself, with or without its largest borough.
And being New York, it will be filled with impatient sports fans who would like to win now, thanks.
To that end, the Nets revamped their roster in the offseason. Most notably, they acquired guard Joe Johnson in a blockbuster trade, and added veterans Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Childress, Andray Blatche, C.J. Watson, Reggie Evans and European free agent Mirza Teletovic.
Even more significant than the Johnson trade, though, was that they kept star point guard Deron Williams, who re-signed in July, agreeing to a five-year contract worth about $98 million. The Nets also kept center Brook Lopez, power forward Kris Humphries and small forward Gerald Wallace, all of whom were potential free agents.
With that group, the Nets expect to contend for a playoff spot this season after their last two dismal years in New Jersey.
“I’m losing sleep now for different reasons because I’m really excited about this team and all of the possibilities, all of the different combinations and intangibles, different ways we can play on both ends of the floor,” Johnson said.