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."