"When Jason Kidd came to Newark to play the Nets, he said he'd believe the team's new home in Brooklyn when he sees it. Richard Jefferson, Kidd's one-time running mate in New Jersey, last night said you better believe Brooklyn will become the team's home -- and potentially a lure.

But if the team isn't winning, none of it will matter.

"Obviously, it's going to happen," said Jefferson, who referred to construction progress photos the Nets first put up before Carmelo Anthony's Nuggets visited. "I just saw pictures of some of the construction. . . . But because they've been talking about it for so long is it tough for people to envision it? Yeah.

"A lot will depend of the type of support they get from the people there. Winning always helps," Jefferson continued. "It's a situation that could be very positive, but at the end of the day it's about the environment you build as a franchise. When we were in New Jersey and had good teams, people wanted to come here, so we got key free agents. Guys wanted to come here because we had a chance to win, a good locker room and a good environment."