Other than Stephon Marbury — who simply wanted to be closer to home — no N.B.A. star ever demanded a trade to East Rutherford. Elite players now view the Nets as legitimate, and Brooklyn as desirable — on par with the glamour teams in Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and, yes, Manhattan.

“Brooklyn is going to be huge,” (Deron) Williams, a member of the United States national team, said before Monday’s practice at U.N.L.V. “It definitely factored into my decision, starting a franchise in a place that hasn’t had a franchise since the ’50s, a city that wants basketball there.”

For more than 10 minutes, Williams entertained questions about the prospect of joining forces with (Dwight) Howard, his close friend, whom he called “one of the top five players in the world.” He spoke in cautious but hopeful tones, saying: “I think we’ll have a good team without him. I think we’ll have an ever better team with him.”

via Howard Beck of The New York Times