With camp starting in a few weeks, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the Nets rookie Brook Lopez, who along with Chris Douglas-Roberts and Ryan Anderson, who could turn into the next “Big Three” if it all works out right.

After a great college career in Stanford that garnered him Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 (07), All-Pac-10 Freshman Team (07), McDonald’s All-American – high school (06) and Third Team Parade All-American (06) honors, Lopez will be expected to share power forward and center duties with Josh Boone, Sean Williams and maybe even fellow rookie Ryan Anderson.

Jeff Fox on CollegeHoops.Net did a great scouting report on Lopez before the draft that praises him for being a tough cookie in the post and having a sweet jump hook shot. He also talks about his size, which at seven feet is impressive and at only 20, can get even better. However, Fox, does a great job of pointing out that Lopez missed a bunch of games last season and may not have the polish he needs to thrive in the NBA right away.

MyNBADraft.com is a little bit more negative on the big guy, saying that Lopez needs to develop his offensive game, but also states that his size and athleticism should be in the NBA for the next eight to 10 years regardless of what he accomplishes.

Hopefully for Nets fans, he sticks around a little longer than that.

I on the other hand have a bit of a different opinion on Lopez. I believe that the youngster has the ability and the look of a future NBA star. Considering how the league is starved for talented and marketable seven footers that aren’t named Duncan, Lopez may have came into the league at exactly the right time.

However, he’ll have to develop his game and work extremely hard to be noticed on the Nets. Ryan Anderson is a damn good shooter and Sean Williams showed a ton of promise with his blocking ability last season. Speaking of promise, Josh Boone grew leaps and bounds as an all-around player last season and looks focused on remaining in the starting lineup. That means Lopez is going to have to play a well-rounded game and be someone the team can depend on.

It’s not going to be easy for him, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

Photo by the Stanford Daily

When Devin Harris was originally traded to the Nets, many saw it as a new beginning for both him and the team.

Being the replacement to one of the greatest point guards in NBA history is no easy task however and while Harris’ play with the Nets was easily comparable to that of Kidd’s in Dallas the rest of the season, the team didn’t make the playoffs.

Making the playoffs every season while with Dallas, Harris is ready to bring the same type of success to the Nets this season.

Recently interviewed by the team’s official site Harris talked about the team’s offseason moves that will play a pivotal part in helping the team get back into the post-season.

“With anybody in the NBA, as far as veterans, you see what they are capable of doing and what they had been brought in for,” Harris told the Nets official site. “Keyon is a great energy guy that comes off the bench. He puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the ball; he can run a team up and down the floor. Jarvis Hayes, [is]obviously coming in to make shots; he’s a shooter. Najera, who I was a big fan of, is one of those dirty work guys; rebounding, defense and doing more of the physical game down low. Some of the rookies coming in I’ve seen a lot of. I watched a lot of Brook at Stanford. Ryan can make shots and CDR [Chris Douglas-Roberts] is more of an all around player. I see Bobby (Simmons) all summer long. We work out together all the time in Chicago.”

Where do I begin with this?

This guy is not only a student of the game, you can also tell that he’d make a great coach one day. Between watching college basketball enough to know his new teammates games and having no problem talking about the Nets new additions, it’s obvious that Harris is dedicated to a cause: building a successful team in New Jersey.

With more of an opportunity this season and more time to understand the workings of the Nets offense, I expect Harris to have a career year in 09 and to continue to prove anyone in the NBA wrong that thought he was just an extra piece in Dallas.

With Richard Jefferson in Milwaukee and Vince Carter getting on in years, Devin Harris is one of the new faces of the Nets and like Carter, will have to become a leader as well this season.

By the look of his comments on the team’s official site, that process has already begun.

Photo by NBA.com

Of the 16 players on the Nets roster right now, nine of them have less than two years experience at the pro level. Of the eight that have played significantly at the pro level, only Darrell Armstrong [a free agent who's chances of sticking with the team look very doubtful] and Vince Carter have ten years or more experience. Then you have a guy like Keith Van Horn, who is on the roster because he forgot to sign his retirement papers.

So considering all of this, what can Nets fans expect from this team this season?

As I’ve said in previous posts, Vince Carter is going to have to be a leader. He’s going to be asked to do everything he does on the court and them some, in addition to helping these kids, guys like Brook Lopez, Ryan Anderson and Chris Douglas-Roberts get their feet wet and get them to produce very quickly. If they don’t then they’ll get less time on the court and guys like Yi Jianlian, Josh Boone and Sean Williams will have to take center stage.

For a guy like Jianlian, who Nets GM Kiki Vandeweghe has compared to Dirk Nowitzki, it’s time to prove the Nets got their monies worth when they dealt away their leading scorer Richard Jefferson a few months ago.

The same thing goes for Devin Harris, who now has an opportunity to be a leader and convince the pundits in the NBA that he’s more than a secondary scorer who doesn’t have the consistency to be a legitimate threat on both sides of the ball.

Josh Boone can continue to develop as a center and a guy who has become a much better shooter and rebounder since entering the league. Sean Williams can get back to the play he exhibited during the first half last season and be more than a guy who can stuff the ball down your throat if you give him an opportunity.

And if these guys manage to falter down the stretch, Keyon Dooling, Eduardo Najera and Jarvis Hayes will get opportunities to get the playing time they haven’t gotten in other organizations.

Will it all work out in the Nets favor? It’s too early to tell to be honest, but it’s obvious that for the first time in a very long time, the Nets have options up and down the roster, instead of relying on the “big three.”

It’s going to be a different feeling for Nets fans this season, but it should be interesting to say the very least.

He may have averaged four less points a game last season and shown signs of losing a step, but Vince Carter is now the Nets only bona-fide superstar.

Say goodbye forever to “The Big Three” and hello to the “Vince Carter and Friends show.”

With all the moves the team has made this off-season, Carter knows this may be the unveiling of a new chapter in his career that may put him in an unlikely role, the leader.

From the look of it, it seems like he’s ready to go and make the most of it.

“I never questioned what they’re doing and I definitely wanted to be here,” said Carter to Yahoo Sports. “It’s the way it goes. It’s the business of basketball. Sometimes guys get moved who didn’t want to. You have to accept it and I’m going to make the best of it. This is my opportunity to step up and be a leader on and off the court.”

With all the youngsters and bench players on the team this season, Carter knows this team is a bit tricky to dissect. Nevertheless, he understands the situation and knows that if players produce, the Nets have an opportunity to control their season more than anyone in the NBA currently thinks.

“We all have something to prove,” Carter told Yahoo Sports. “It’s an opportunity for those guys who weren’t starters or didn’t play big minutes somewhere else or were shafted or whatever the situation may be to come here and write their own story.”

That story he thinks can be an interesting one.

“The good thing about it is we have a lot of veterans and they know how to adapt, how to make it happen and bring along the young guys,” Carter said to Nets beat writer Julian Garcia on Wednesday.

With a bigger, stronger and more-balanced lineup, Carter can be the leader of a gritty, energetic and upstart bunch of misfits that can challenge for the last two playoff spots in the East. Once the playoffs begin, then it’s wide open territory and the Nets can surprise a few people.

I’m sure that no one expected the Atlanta Hawks of all teams to give the Boston Celtics a run for their money in the playoffs last season, so if the Nets put themselves in a situation in the playoffs against a team they match up well against, this season has the possibility of getting quite exciting.