FOR whatever it's worth, Dave Checketts and Bruce Ratner are seriously talking about going into business together after meeting several times regarding the prospective purchase of the Nets and their relocatation from East Rutherford to Brooklyn.

According to an especially scented source, the ex-gaudy Garden president and the billionaire real estate developer became fast friends within the last month or two following an introduction by current co-chairman Lewis Katz. Computer entrepreneur Charles Wang and real estate tycoon Charles Kushner have also surfaced as potential buyers. Wang's dream is to return the Nets to Nassau Coliseum and ultimately house them in a state-of-the-art arena, whereas Kushner's aim is to keep them in The (refurbished, of course) Meadowlands.

Meanwhile, in the final analysis, perhaps the most important player of them all - in what amounts to an auction of the NBA repeat runner-ups - is David Gerstein, whose say and sway all but evaporated since the franchise was sold to Katz' group. From what I'm told, the minority owner (of between three and seven percent) commands a right of first refusal and he fully intends to manipulate it in order to regain lost power and respect.