The Nets are hoping that Brook Lopez, their first-round pick from June's draft, can develop into an NBA-quality big man.

Lopez, taken with the 10th overall pick, is very polished offensively but New Jersey is in dire need of defense in the paint.

"You just worry about the facets of the game that you can control," Lopez said. "Defensively, you're either in the right position or you make a mistake, your guy blows by you and makes a bucket."

Coach Lawrence Frank believes that Lopez has the talent and smarts to be an NBA starter.

"The great thing about Brook is he's a very willing learner," Frank said. "He really, really cares. He cares when things aren't going right for him, and that's the first step. Then what do you do about it? You work at it and improve. So I think that he's going to put forth the amount of work that it takes to be a very, very good player."

"I definitely want to be that guy," Lopez said. "I've always wanted to be that post presence for my team and I've always tried to work to get there. So right now I'm just concentrating on doing whatever coach requires me to do to become that presence."

Point guard Devin Harris says that he is ready to be a leader for the rebuilding Nets this season.

"This is a new kind of situation for me, being just five years into the league and being one of the most experienced guys out there, guys looking for me to help out. I had guys to look up to in Dallas, and now I'm kind of that guy," Harris said.

He has the inevitable task of trying to replace Jason Kidd after being traded for the future Hall of Famer last season.

"I want more control out there," said Harris. "I want to control the offense. I want to control the tempo. And I believe with the guys that we have, it's got to be the way we play - up and down."

The New Jersey Nets have signed free agents Eddie Gill, Brian Hamilton, Julius Hodge and Awvee Storey, Nets President Rod Thorn announced today.  Per team policy, terms of the agreements were not released.  

Gill (6-0, 190), is appearing on the Nets training camp roster for the second straight year, as he spent the 2007 preseason with New Jersey, appearing in four games.  During the 2007-08 season, he spent 13 games, including one start, with the Nets and averaged 2.9 points in 11.5 minutes.  He was waived by New Jersey on 12/12 and then signed with the Seattle SuperSonics on 3/24, appearing in one contest.  The five year NBA veteran has averaged 3.1 points and 1.1 assists in 181 career games with New Jersey, Memphis, Portland and Indiana.  While playing for the Nets in 2001, he was credited with scoring the eight millionth point in NBA history during a game against the Boston Celtics on 4/15.  Gill was selected as the Number One overall pick in the 2007 NBA Development League Draft by the Colorado 14ers.  Gill averaged 18.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 2.2 steals in 38.4 minutes with Colorado and was selected to the 2008 D-League All-Star team.  

Hamilton (6-6, 200), who went undrafted out of Louisiana-Lafayette in 2005, spent the 2007-08 season with the Utah Flash of the D-League.  Appearing in 49 games, including 34 starts, he averaged 10.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 31.2 minutes per contest.  In 2005-06, Hamilton appeared in 10 games for the Pennsylvania Valley Dogs of the USBL and averaged 15.7 points while shooting .538 from the field.

Hodge (6-7, 210), is a two year pro who was selected 20th overall by Denver in the 2005 NBA Draft.   The New York City native has appeared in 23 career games with Denver and Milwaukee, averaging 1.2 points and 0.7 rebounds in 4.2 minutes per game.  Hodge is joining the Nets? preseason roster after spending the 2007-08 season with four different teams.  He signed with Italian Serie A team Cimberio Varese before transferring to fellow Serie A team Legea Scafati halfway through the season.  He then signed with the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian NBL before returning to the states to play with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the D-League.  

Storey (6-6, 225), is a three year pro who spent the 2007-08 season with Milwaukee.  The Arizona State alum has appeared in 60 career games, including one start, with New Jersey, Washington and Milwaukee and has averages of 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 6.8 minutes.  Storey saw action in 26 games for the Bucks, averaging 3.5 points and 2.1 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per contest.  Storey was a member of the Washington Wizards for the 2005-06 season, appearing in 25 games, including one start, and tallying 1.7 points and 0.9 rebounds in 4.6 minutes.  Storey debuted in the NBA with the Nets, playing in nine games for New Jersey during the 2004-05 season, averaging 0.9 points in 3.6 minutes per contest.

Nets swingman Vince Carter believes that the team can make the playoffs this season despite having traded both Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson in the last seven months.

"I think this is a year to just get back to where we were," Carter said Friday. "Sitting out of the playoffs wasn't fun. I think we had the ability to (make the playoffs) last year regardless of what happened through the year.

"We still gave ourselves a chance to win. Maybe our desire wasn't there," he added. "I don't know. It was a tough year. It is still a reachable goal, the playoffs, and this year it is our goal to make the playoffs."

Vance Walberg, now an assistant at Massachusetts and is the inventor of the offensive scheme that Lawrence Frank is trying to incorporate into his own this season.

His system is called AASAA (Attack, Attack, Skip, Attack, Attack) or Memphis Attack.  

John Calipari and Walberg have been close for many years and the Memphis coach has used it successfully in recent years.

Walberg said the Sacramento Kings, the Denver Nuggets and the Atlanta Hawks, among other teams, inquired about it this off-season, while the Boston Celtics used selected sets from it during their championship run.

The New Jersey Nets have named Gregg Polinsky the team?s director of player personnel, Nets' President Rod Thorn announced today.  Polinsky had been the team?s director of scouting for the past three seasons.

Polinsky joined the Nets as a scout in 1999 following an extensive collegiate coaching career.  A native of St. Louis, Mo., Polinsky played college ball at New Mexico and earned his degree in physical education from Northern Arizona.  He began his coaching sojourn in 1981 as an assistant at Howard College (1981-83), and served in a similar capacity at the University of Texas (1983-86) and the University of Alabama (1986-95) before assuming the head coaching post at Georgia Southern, a position he held from 1995-99.

The Nets have officially invited free agent guard Julius Hodge to training camp, according to HoopsHype.

With Yi Jianlian now in New Jersey, Bucks' forward Charlie Villaneuva believes that 2008-2009 will be different for him, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is reporting.

Villaneuva thought that it would be him, not Yi, who would be packing his bags after last season, especially considering the hype surrounding the Chinese forward.

?It?s funny how things work,? Villanueva said Thursday. ?When the season was over, I had my doubts. I didn?t think I was going to be back."

?I hate to make excuses, but now I?m clear-minded. I already know what to expect. It (the situation last season) was very hard. I was very frustrated at times, my minutes being inconsistent. But that?s the past; it?s over with. It was a learning experience.?

Former Nuggets' first round pick Julius Hodge is still hopeful of landing back in the NBA, and he is hoping with New Jersey, but with 16 players already under contract the Nets may be a longshot, the New York Daily News is reporting.

After being shot multiple times in a drive by during his rookie season, Hodge is now physically and mentally stronger, and following dominant performances in Europe, Australia, and the NBA Developmental League, Hodge believes that the time is right for him to get back into the league.

"Right now, I haven't felt better at any point in my life in terms of getting ready for a basketball season," said Hodge, who is up to his desired playing weight of 220 pounds. "I am more than 100% ready."

"I'm very comfortable with running the team, giving the guys the ball and being a versatile defender," Hodge said. "The Nets need a third point guard, and I definitely think I can fill that spot."

Rapper Jay-Z has finally discussed his involvement in the feud between LeBron James and DeShawn Stevenson when the Cavaliers and Wizards battled in the playoffs this spring, according to Washington Post.

"I had no intention to talk about the DeShawn Stevenson thing," Jay-Z said in an interview with Vibe. "I seen him beatin' the [expletive] out of LeBron, and he really couldn't do nothing. I really wanted to inspire [LeBron]. I sent him the ["Blow The Whistle (freestyle)"]. The song wasn't to be released."

"I sent him the song to get him amped up. I do [expletive] like that. I hit him on the BlackBerry all the way through the playoffs. There's a big trail of e-mails that we have where I'm almost like a coach on the sidelines for him 'cause...that's my little brother! I'm giving him advice, even outside of 'Take the ball to the elbow and shoot.' The psychology of what's going on: That's my role in his life."