Nets help Knicks, beat 76ers on road 95-89

Nets help Knicks, beat 76ers on road 95-89

TOM MIHALEK/EPA

Gerald Green scores game-high 23 points in Nets' road win against Philadelphia 76ers

NJ NETS 95, PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 89

PHILADELPHIA -- The $ 1 billion arena will have a team: The Brooklyn Nets.

It was a foregone conclusion, of course, but the NBA's Board of Governors unanimously approved the Nets' move to Brooklyn and their nickname on Friday. The countdown to the end of New Jersey basketball is official on April 30 - when the league will acknowledge the franchise as the Brooklyn Nets -- and pressure to start producing will reach New York levels.

"It's kind of shocking that it got approved today," said Kris Humphries, echoing the sentiment throughout a locker room unaware the move had yet to be approved. "They must have known for sure it was going to be approved. I guess the Nets will be there for sure."

So the Nets are moving, but it's unlikely that most of the players will be joining the trek over the Hudson. Ten of the 13 players on the roster for Friday's 95-89 victory over the 76ers can become free agents after the season. The Nets will again be starting over in a bigger market with a different cast and, presumably, a better fanbase.

Nets coach Avery Johnson believes he'll have an easier time fulfilling his pledge to instill a "winning spirit" to a team with an inglorious history.

"I don't think it'll have a negative effect. So I think it's going to help," Johnson said before rookie MarShon Brooks scored 22 points, including the final five in the close win over Philadelphia. "We're the only team that's in transition like we are. So I think it's going to help. There's a lot of energy and anticipation for us moving there."

Still, there are obstacles, potential spoilers. The Nets don't have a practice facility in Brooklyn and will continue to use the PNY Center in East Rutherford. It's a conundrum for players when they choose where to live, and a hass le of a commute for athletes averse to public transportation.

Still, Jordan Farmar - who said he has yet to decide whether to pick up his player option for next season - is convinced the ingredients will eventually cook up success. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has set a goal of winning a title by 2015.

"It's a gradual process. You can't just go out, no matter how much money you have and you're willing to spend and just get everybody. People that come to free agency, they have to choose to come play with you," Farmar said. "It's a process of selecting the right people and then the guys who get on board seeing the vision of what it can be. It's not going to happen overnight. But I have no doubt it will happen."