In one of the weirdest turn of events in recent NBA history, Jason Kidd finally got his wish. He’s no longer a member of the New Jersey Nets. However, the Nets got plenty of talent back in the deal and have started to put a team together that should be able to put out a consistent performance on the court every night.

The question remains if they will be consistently good or bad though.

By trading Kidd, the Nets have passed the torch to Richard Jefferson. Vince Carter’s numbers don’t indicate it, but he’s not the guy that has to go out and bust his hump on the court for this team to win, Jefferson is. Having a career season, averaging almost 24 points a game, Jefferson cannot take a nap down the stretch and is going to have to especially strong for this team to make the playoffs. Currently in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference, the Nets can kiss the playoffs goodbye if they take their time gelling with their new teammates.

How long it takes for the new Nets to get on the same page of their teammates remains to be seen though. Without a doubt, their arrival changes the dynamics of the team completely. While no one knows when Keith Van Horn will make his return to the New Jersey [this time free of Stephon Marbury] or if he’ll ever finish the retirement paper work he was supposed to start in 2006, Maurice Ager is a youngster that could develop into a solid player and Trent Hassell has proven to be a solid guy off the bench that can do a little bit of everything. DeSagana Diop gives the Nets a big man off the bench that can rebound a little and play in the post.

While the aforementioned players will definitely play a role in determining this team’s playoff chances, Devin Harris will be the key to determining if this trade was a good one for New Jersey. Less of a creator than Kidd, Harris will be asked to shoot more and play more minutes than he ever has before. No one knows how he’ll respond to that type of pressure. Some feel this will be the opportunity the youngster needs to escape the shadow of the players he played with in Dallas. Others feel the deal will expose him to the rest of the league and won’t allow him access to the lanes and room on the court he got while playing with Dirk Nowitzki.

Still nursing a bone bruise on his left ankle, Harris and the Nets will have to wait for an answer to that question.

Nets waive Jamaal Magloire- Looks like this will be one of the last times I type Jamaal on this blog. Waived yesterday, Magloire just never got a chance to show what he had for the Nets, partly due to coach Lawrence Frank’s refusal to take Jason Collins off the court when he was stinking up the place. Add in the fact that youngsters like Sean Williams and Josh Boone need more playing time in order to develop, Magloire never had a chance. It makes you wonder why they signed him in the first place.

Devean George isn’t a popular person in Dallas right now. From a Nets point of view, I really can’t understand why. Why would the Mavericks want to give up two first round picks, George, a solid point guard in Devin Harris, Maurice Ager, DeSagana Diop and Jerry Stackhouse? Even with the Nets buying out Stackhouse, this is a great deal for them. They get a point guard that can immediately replace Kidd, who is quick and can shoot. On top of that, the guy is developing more and more with every game he plays. He’s far from the creator that Kidd is, but he scores more and can be a solid passer if he has to be.

Diop would easily be able to fill the big man off the bench role for the Nets and would basically give the Nets another option until Nenad Krstic is himself again. With Diop and Stromile Swift off the Bench and Josh Boone and Sean Williams getting an opportunity to either start or get big minutes, the Nets would be an entirely different team. Harris is a speedster and would force Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson to play at an extremely high tempo. I don’t know what you guys think of that, but I like it. I like it a lot.

But this all means nothing if this deal doesn’t go through. Whatever early birds are in the way and whatever Stackhouse’s big mouth says, the Nets need to find a way to get this deal done. Losing Kidd may hurt them for a while, but with the team moving to Brooklyn in a few years, they’d have plenty of young talent and would be extremely fun to watch. Chances are those first round picks from Dallas are doing to be low ones, but their still first round picks.

On the other rumor front, according to the New York Post, the Nets are shopping Bostjan Nachbar and Jamaal Magloire to the Grizzles for Mike Miller. While I think Magloire got the short end of the stick during his stay in New Jersey and Nachbar is an extremely underrated talent, Mike Miller is a great player who I’d love to see in a Nets uniform. I don’t know exactly where Vince Carter or Richard Jefferson would fit into all of this, as they would all have to basically share minutes and do some serious moving and shaking with the lineup card to make it work, but Miller is just too good a player not to get for two players you’re not using enough.

I don’t know how you guys feel, but this team could be an entirely different one by Thursday. If it’s a much better one remains to be seen as of yet.

Jason Kidd obviously doesn’t want to play on the Nets anymore, but that hasn’t stopped him from playing his heart out. Last night was just another example of that as the point guard added another triple double under his belt and fueled a 104-90 win over the Bobcats. Richard Jefferson wasn’t too bad either, adding 23 points of his own, while Josh Boone and Sean Williams were solid too.

If this team wants to make the playoffs this season, this is the type of effort they have to get on a more consistent basis. Vince carter was stronger on the boards then he usually is and Boone and Williams were factors as well. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell that Williams and Boone aren’t the next coming of Jayson Williams, but they can be strong on the boards if they work hard, which will help guys like Jefferson and Carter get more chances on offense. If that happens, the Nets could get hot and get past the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and extend their season an extra week or two.

I’ve said it all season, but I really think if Boone and Williams were given a real shot that they could put up solid numbers. With Nenad Krstic still not ready to assume his role in the starting lineup, I think we’re starting to see small glimpses of what these two can do. While a healthy and dominant Krstic would be a better option, Boone and Williams are more than serviceable and can even flourish once they start to get more experience. With the jury still out on how long it’ll take for Krstic to be his old self again, Boone and Williams should get better as the season goes on. That may not be enough for the Nets to make the playoffs and get past the first round, but it should play a part in keeping them competitive for the rest of the season.

In other news, I think I can officially say that the NBA has changed drastically over the past two weeks, with Shaq going to the Suns and Pau Gasol going to the Lakers. With these moves going down, I wonder what the Eastern Conference has up their sleeves. Losing Kidd seems inevitable at this point and Rod Thorn has expressed an interest in shopping Vince Carter. Trading both of them will change the Nets drastically and only time will tell if they come out a better team in the end.