Jason Kidd met with the Nets' hierarchy at the team's practice facility yesterday and voiced his concern about the state of the team and its future direction.

According to an Eastern Conference official, Kidd did not demand a trade.  However, he did not back off from the idea that he may be better off going to a team that has a legitimate chance to win a title.  

Led by incoming owner Bruce C. Ratner, the Nets attempted to smooth the quasi-crisis with Kidd by pointing to next summer, when the team will have several draft picks and be under the salary cap by enough to go after a star player.  The Nets may then still be in the market to fill the void left when Kenyon Martin was signed and traded to Denver.

According to a Nets official, after Kenyon Martin was dealt, Kidd asked the team to trade him.

"If Jason has any demands, I'm sure he will make them public," said Nets CEO Rod Thorn.

Kidd could be dealt to Dallas.  The Mavericks are offering Antoine Walker, whose contract expires at the end of next season, in return.  

Kidd has a surgically repaired knee and 5 years remaining on his maximum contract.

Richard Jefferson will tough it out with the New Jersey Nets this season in hope of being rewarded with a big contract extension this summer from penny-pinching Nets owner Bruce Ratner. He will not demand a trade even if Jason Kidd is shipped out.

"I'm in a difficult position also, because even if I try and play out the year to go someplace else, the Nets are going to have $30 million in cap room," Jefferson said. "So if the Nets want to keep me, I'd pretty much have to demand a trade or say something to get out. But what sense does that make? That doesn't make much sense."

Jefferson will also not try to talk Jason Kidd out of demanding a trade.

"I have so much respect for [Kidd]," Jefferson said. "I owe a lot of my success to him. He's put me in this position I am right now. He's my mentor. He's shown me how to work, shown me how to handle myself, shown me how to carry myself. It would be unfortunate [if Kidd were traded]. But he's going to do what's best for his family, and the only thing I can do is thank him."

In the wake of the mass exodus going on in New Jersey, vacationing point guard Jason Kidd has let it be known through the grapevine that he'd have no problem with the Nets exiling him to the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs or Dallas Mavericks. The Nets, opting not to match the Denver Nuggets' massive offer to Kenyon Martin, are in a "re-loading" stage, also having jettisoned longtime starting shooting guard Kerry Kittles in a cap-cutting trade to the Los Angeles Clippers and reportedly asking injured center Alonzo Mourning to shelve any idea of a return.

The Spurs aren't expected to have the financial flexibility to trade for Kidd, who nearly signed outright with the club last summer as a free agent. New deals for forward Tim Duncan, guards Brent Barry and Manu Ginobili and center Rasho Nesterovic make money tough to come by.

The Lakers don't appear interested in taking on Kidd's contract, which would impair their cap for many more years when coupled with the contract Kobe Bryant just signed.

Kidd's best bet may be the Mavericks, where he started his career, but owner Mark Cuban's hesitancy to top incumbent Steve Nash's $36 million offer from the Phoenix Suns makes absorbing the five years and $90 million left owed Kidd, recovering from knee surgery, a long shot.

The New Jersey Nets presumably will dissuade star center Alonzo Mourning from returning to the team, even though he has been in the gym almost daily for the past two months.

The team would rather see him retire -- thereby allowing it to save $12 million after the last two years of his salary come off the salary cap.

Mourning's agent, Jeff Wechsler, said last night that a comeback from last December's kidney transplant "hasn't come up -- Alonzo made his comments earlier this summer that he has no plans to play, and I'd believe what Alonzo says."

Thorn added, "He's been working out, and there's certainly no doubt that if he can play he would like to play...but it's too early to comment about it."

When asked whether the bean counters would welcome Mourning back, Thorn's response was intentionally vague: "If he's able to play," he said, "I'm sure he'll be here."

Jason Kidd has reportedly returned home from holiday in Mexico demanding to speak to Bruce Ratner.  Over the last few weeks, the Nets, a team that went to the NBA Finals in two of the last three years, have lost Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles and Rodney Rogers.  They also may buy out the contract of Lucious Harris.

It is certain that Jason Kidd would want very little to do with a rebuilding team at this stage of his career, and it is a strong possibility that he will request a trade.

Further complicating matters for the Nets is Alonzo Mourning's desired return.  He performed favorably in a charity game and a close friend has expressed that Mourning would like to return.  The Nets would likey prefer Mourning to stay retired and thus his salary would come off the cap following this season.

Kerry Kittles is in and Quentin Richardson is out at shooting guard for the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers acquired Kerry Kittles from the Nets On Thursday for a future second-round pick.

?We are very pleased to announce the addition of Kerry Kittles, who is a talented player with a great work ethic,? said Clippers Vice President of Basketball Operations Elgin Baylor. ?Kerry plays hard on both ends of the floor and has a great feel for the game. He is also a veteran player who brings a tremendous amount of playoff experience to our roster.?

Kittles averaged 13.1 points and 4.0 rebounds while playing in all 82 games for the Nets last season.

The trade will give the Nets a Traded Player Exception worth a little over $9.2 million.

In other news, ESPNEWS is reporting that the Clippers will not match the Phoenix Suns' six-year $42.6 million offer sheet for Richardson.

The New Jersey Nets are making moves and the ownership group could be approved on Friday.

First, Today they are expected to sign swingman Rodney Buford to a one-year deal for a minimum salary of $745,000.

The Nets are also interested in adding guards Ron Mercer and Jacque Vaughn, along with forward Eric Williams to their roster.

Finally, on Friday, the NBA's Board of Governors is finally expected to approve Bruce Ratner's ownership group of more than 50 investors.

This is another step paving the way for the team to move to Brooklyn in a few seasons.

"I'm still upset about it," said Thomas about the hard foul he took from the New Jersey Nets? center during the playoffs last season.

Tim cannot let go of the foul and has even taken up boxing in the off-season to ?toughen up.?  The 6?10? small forward has been called soft in the past, but it seems he is determined to dispel that myth.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., July 27 - Nenad Krstic's biceps do not bulge like Kenyon Martin's, but not many other professional basketball players are built the way Martin is. Krstic is a work in progress. That means he will work on thickening his muscles.

As he does so, the Nets will hold modest expectations for Krstic, the team's first-round draft pick in 2002. Krstic, 21, a 7-foot center-forward from Serbia and Montenegro, may take Martin's spot in the lineup, but he will not be asked to do what Martin did.

"Were not putting the pressure on him, that he's going to replace Kenyon Martin,'' Nets General Manager Ed Stefanski said of Krstic, who signed a contract Tuesday. "That's not fair.''

"I think the time is right to come to the N.B.A.," Krstic said in a news conference at the Nets' offices. "I think I'm ready, and I have a lot of experience. I believe in myself, and I'm working hard."

The very active and very fiscally responsible Nets are reportedly speaking to the Cavs about acquiring Dajuan Wagner and Eric Williams for shooting guard Kerry Kittles.  They are also interested in signing Rodney Buford.  With all the talk surrounding acquiring Shareef Abdur-Rahim dying down, this trade appears to be a likely alternative.