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

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.

According to the PA Sports Ticker, Nets free agent Nenad Krstic has decided to head to Europe. Coming off an injury plagued season that limited him to just 6.4 points a game, Krstic and his agent Marc Cornstein were unable to land the former rising star a mid-level contract with an NBA franchise, according to ESPN, which necessitated the move from the NBA.

Now with the Triumph Moscow, Krstic got the kind of money no one would pay him in the NBA at almost nine million a season and will have two years to get his act together before making another possible return to the NBA.

While Krstic is probably enthralled that someone actually thinks he’s worth that kind of money, it’s got to be a bittersweet victory for him. Two seasons ago, Krstic was looking like a future All-Star and someone the Nets could depend on. After a debilitating knee injury however, he was never the same player.

Some Nets fans may have wanted to give him one more go just to make sure, but watching him most of last season, it was obvious; he was done.

The Nets front office can retain his NBA rights by offering him a qualifying offer every season [worth approximately 2.7 million], but as of right now, they’ll just wish him the best in his new endeavors.

“We’ll see what happens but eventually I think he’ll go wherever he can get the best deal,” Rod Thorn told the NY Post on July 30. “For now, this was the best deal for him.”

Add in the arrival of Brook Lopez, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Ryan Anderson, in addition to the solid play of Josh Boone last season and the continued development of Sean Williams and it was apparent that the Nets didn’t need the big guy anymore either.

In a solid article written by Jonathan Lehman this week for the Post, it seems that these youngsters are ready to prove they belong as well.

“I don’t know if it’s rebuilding, but the Nets organization as a whole is starting over,” Douglas-Roberts said. “I feel this is a great rookie class, especially for the Nets. We’re the sleeper in the East.”

Now the Nets will have an opportunity to give these youngsters a real opportunity to play, which should make training camp very competitive for the team and intriguing for fans.

Like I mentioned in last week’s post, the Nets bench is much deeper than last season and despite eliminating two of the former big three, this team should still be very competitive. Regardless of what many think, the East is a crap shoot every season and as long as the Nets can hover around .500, they’ll have a shot to get in the playoffs.