Eric Williams has been a resident of New Jersey for a long time.  And he doesn't feel the Nets have fallen as an Eastern Conference power.

Williams officially became a Net yesterday and promptly declared the team a contender for the Eastern Conference championship.  

Then he took a shot at Kenyon Martin.

Williams said that "[Kidd] made Kenyon Martin a great player."

"Jason's a player who makes everyone around him better," said Williams, who signed a three-year, $12 million deal with a player option for the third year. "He's got the ball 99 percent of the time. No mistake about it, Kenyon's a great young talent, but at the same time Jason is one of the top point guards in the league. You put him on any team, they will improve. As long as Jason Kidd goes . . ."

"Universally, it was a great decision on and off the court," said Williams. "Playing nine years, it was time to go home."

The Nets appear to be close to signing Ron Mercer.