According to the Associated Press, Nets Center Nenad Krstic is still a ways away from being the same player that averaged 16 points a game last season.

Going down with an injury last season, Krstic played in only 26 games last season and is looking to get back on the court and help the Nets rebound after a mediocre season.

However, in an article published on October 11, AP’s Tom Canavan goes into how Krstic fired an air-ball in practice and Nets coach Lawrence Frank was busy making excuses for him.

If you’re a Nets fan, this isn’t great news.

Making things even worse is that towards the end of the article, Richard Jefferson goes on to say, “It might be 25 games before he is his normal self and even then he might have his ups and downs. It might not be until after the All-Star break that he is the consistent player that we are accustomed to.”

Considering that they lost Mikki Moore this offseason, the Nets better hope that Jamaal Magloire can relive his glory days from 2004, when he averaged 11.4 points and nine rebounds a game. However, with Jason Collins nursing a sore hip for the past week, Magloire may be getting more minutes at power forward then at center. While many thought that Magloire would be getting plenty of minutes as the team’s backup center, he may have to take over at PF until Collins is healthy.

From my point of view, I’d rather have Magloire at PF than Collins, just because he’s a better rebounder, a better shooter and can get around the court better than Collins can. However, with Krstic and Collins not at 100 percent, Magloire is going to have to do whatever he can to help the Nets, in what even position they put him in.

Trouble for Williams?

According to The Record, Sean Williams was 15 minutes late for practice last week and as a result, was benched in what was supposed to be his preseason debut. With Collins injured and Krstic taking it slow, Williams and guys like Josh Boone could really take advantage of added playing time. They just have to do the right thing on and off the court.

Showing up 15 minutes late to practice in what is supposed to be your first appearance with a team that drafted you in the first round, Williams hasn’t exactly started his Nets career on the right foot.

I keep hearing all this nonsense about Allan Houston joining the Nets lately.

First I saw something in the Star-Ledger, then I saw something on the Pennsylvania Sports Ticker and now today on Yahoo Sports.

While his chronic knees have probably healed up since he hasn’t played a game in three seasons, is he really worth a guaranteed contract?

I don’t think so.

Even if the Nets manage to sign him for a relatively safe sum, there are still several problems with the former Olympian’s game that need to be addressed however.

Always a defensive liability, even when healthy, Houston’s presence in the Nets lineup won’t be able to help them nearly as much as some hardcore fans think. I mean, it’s obvious that he may be able to provide solid secondary scoring and everyone knows that the Nets could use a guy with a good jumper off the bench since Mikki Moore is gone, but how many minutes is this guy going to be able to get with Vince Carter playing 38 minutes a game?

Not the toughest player on the court either, Houston isn’t going to slotted at small forward anytime soon, meaning that all of his minutes would have to be out of the shooting guard position.

Just because the guy has a name that people remember doesn’t mean that he’ll be able to help this team.

The area where the Nets needed the most help this offseason was getting bigger and by picking up Jamaal Magloire and getting Nenad Krstic back healthy, they’ve successfully done that. Add in a supporting role for guys like Josh Boone, Jason Collins and Sean Williams and it’s easy to see that the Nets will be better on defense and much more aggressive in the paint.

Williams may be more trouble than he’s worth however, failing numerous drug tests in College with barely any offensive game to speak of. However, he’s more athletic than Collins, who is a waste of space at this point in his career. If given a chance, Williams could develop a solid post game in a few years.

Now, notice how I didn’t mention Houston in the last few paragraphs?

Carter, Jefferson and Kidd will provide the Nets with plenty of offense and a 36-year old Houston isn’t really needed.

Stay at ESPN and continue to provide commentary my friend. Your knees feel better lately because you’ve been playing NBA Live for the past three years. Once you start running around again, you’ll have shin splints faster than Antoine Walker and you’ll become an even bigger problem on defense.

It doesn’t matter that you had a great workout last Tuesday workout at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan. A workout is a horse of another color compared to a real NBA game.

Your presence would be great for the fans, but how much  you could actually help the team in limited playing time remains to be scene in my mind.