As mentioned right here last week, Carmelo Anthony and the Nets simply just were not a good fit. That notion was confirmed last night as we learned late that the Nets had pulled out of the Anthony sweepstakes.

Due to the Nuggets indecision on moving their star forward, this trade simply fell through the cracks. The Nets and Nuggets may look into this trade at another time, but for now, it’s dead.

Ultimately, I couldn’t envision Anthony coming to the Nets. Sometimes, fans will just have a hunch about a player and to me, he wasn’t a Net. There’s no point of him going to a single-digit win team when he’s already on a Western Conference playoff squad. If he wanted to be a Net, he would have hounded management to get the deal done and that just didn’t happen.

Maybe the Nuggets and Nets will re-open talks down the road, but for now, Anthony has made the right decision.

By now, you’ve heard that the New Jersey Nets are firmly engaged in a four-team deal that would bring perennial All-Star small forward, Carmelo Anthony to the Garden State. The Nets, Bobcats, Jazz, and Nuggets are engaged in a very complicated deal that would send Anthony and Charlotte guard DJ Augustin to New Jersey. The Nets would distribute first-round pick, Derrick Favors and a 2011 first round pick to Denver while point guard Devin Harris would go to Charlotte. The deal would only go through if Anthony, who is set to become a free agent next summer, agrees to an extension with the Nets.

Word of advice to Melo: Don’ t do it.

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Well, the Nets lost out on the big-time free-agents. However, a new era of Net basketball will start on Thursday afternoon. Ex-Philadelphia 76ers General Manager, Billy King, will assume Rod Thorne’s vacated executive role with the team.

King was the Sixers’ GM from 1997-2007. He led the Sixers to the NBA Finals in 2001. King had a very close relationship with Allen Iverson and sources say King may bring Iverson aboard.

However, with the recent signing of point guard, Jordan Farmer, the Iverson rumors aren’t as strong. Farmer, who averaged 7.2 PPG and 1.5 APG with the Lakers last season, will back-up Devin Harris at point guard. Given Harris’ injury troubles, Farmar will likely see an expanded role with the Nets.

The Nets concluded their busy week by agreeing to a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors for Anthony Morrow. The Nets inked morrow to a three-year, $12 million dollar contract and sent a second round pick back to Golden State. Morrow averaged 13 points per game last year and nailed 46% of his three-pointers.  Morrow led the NBA in 2008 with his efficient three-point shooting.

The New Jersey Nets made their first free agent signing today. Unfortunately, his name isn’t LeBron. The Nets and forward, Travis Outlaw agreed to a five-year, $35 million dollar contract today.

Outlaw played only 34 games with the Clippers and Blazers last season, averaging nine points and four rebounds.

So far, the Nets have struck out on every big-time free agent. Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Amar’e Stoudemire, Rudy Gay, and Carlos Boozer have all signed elsewhere. Assuming LeBron signs elsewhere, the Nets will have $25 million left over. The Nets will need to examine the trade market.

In roughly twelve hours, we’ll know where LeBron James will be playing basketball next season. There have been endless rumors flying around about him house hunting, having lunch with other players, etc. But let’s just cut through all of the clutter and look at the facts. LeBron values only two things…

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Both the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets met with LeBron James on Thursday afternoon. According to various reports, both meetings went extremely well. One source even cited that the Nets might even be front-runners for James’ service.  So how does this all shake out for the two Tri-State teams?

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With NBA free agency underway, I wanted to share my predictions for the key free agents of this class. There have been countless rumors, predictions, and other garbage floating around the media. Note that free agent cannot officially sign a contract until July 8^th. Take these predictions with a grain of salt and enjoy the madness that is about to ensue.

All Fun and Games When You Hold The Power!

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The New Jersey Nets had a very busy draft night. With the third selection in the draft, the Nets selected Georgia Tech forward, Derrick Favors. We profiled Favors here earlier this week. In addition to Favors, the Nets packaged their 27th and 31st pick to land the 24th pick, Texas forward, Damion James, who is the Big 12′s All-Time rebounding leader.

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The NBA Draft is only two days away. The New Jersey Nets have the third overall selection and will hopefully add a player that will help turner the Net franchise around. There are a few standout options for the Nets. Draft Georgia Tech power forward Derrick Favors and pair him with Brook Lopez, creating a fearsome inside duo? What about college basketball players of the year, Evan Turner from THE Ohio State University? Or finally, what about the sharp-shooting forward from Syracuse, Wes Johnson? Rod Thorn has a huge decision to make on Thursday night….

ESPN

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Announced last week, Avery Johnson is set to become the next coach of the New Jersey Nets. Owner Mikhail Prokhorov wanted a coach with a winning track record and Johnson definitely brings that to the table. Prokhorov and Johnson were seen last night at the Celtics/Lakers game. Recruiting? Maybe.

ESPN Insider had this to offer..

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov met new head coach Avery Johnson on Sunday for the first time and the two even went to Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Asked what he told Johnson during their meeting, Prokhorov told the New York Daily News, “Just that we need to create a dynasty team. That’s it. A very simple task.”

“We are both gym rats,” Prokhorov added. “We spend hours in the gym and we are hungry to win. He was nicknamed ‘The Little General’ and my nickname is ‘The General.’ It’s a match made in heaven.”

Johnson will be formally introduced as the Nets head coach on Tuesday. However, Prokhorov will not be there due to a commitment in Russia.

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