Next up is the much-maligned Keith Van Horn (mainly because he was overhyped) who arrived to New Jersey via a draft day trade after he was chosen second overall in 1997.  Van Horn proved immediately that he was a more than capable scorer with a 19.8 Point per Game Average and he would exceed that the following season with a career high 21.8 PPG, which led the Nets and was good enough for fifth overall.  He would also have 8.5 Rebounds per Game, a number he equaled the following season.  While his numbers would recede following the arrival of Jason Kidd in the 2001/02 season, he was a large part of why the Nets reached the Finals and it was his bucket that was the game winner in their Conference Final against the Boston Celtics.  He would be traded after that year to the team that drafted him, the Philadelphia 76ers.

Kenny Anderson grew up in New York and it was a homecoming of sorts when he was drafted second overall in 1991 out of Georgia Tech.  Anderson secured himself as the Nets’ starting Point Guard in his second year in the NBA and in his third year, he was named an All Star while having a career high of 18.8 Points and 9.6 Assists per Game.  Anderson would play 304 Games for the Nets with a 13.3 PPG and a 17.4 PER.

There is a lot of fair criticism that can be thrown the way of Stephon Marbury in regards to his career in the National Basketball Association, but many of that occurred after he left New Jersey and it was as a Net where he put up his best statistical numbers.

Michael Ray Richardson was traded from the Golden State Warriors late in the 1982/83 Season and the then two time All Star would put up solid stats for his new team.  Richardson would lead the Nets in 1984 to their first playoff series win (over the Philadelphia 76ers) in the NBA and his 1984/85 season would see him put up a career high 20.1 Points per Game and he would win the Steals Title with a 3.0 Average.  That would be his highlight year as the next year he would suffer the tragedy of excess.

So many players made their way to the Nets with lofty expectations and Deron Williams was pegged by some to be the next coming of Jason Kidd.  That didn’t happen but D-Will did show Nets fans on occasion that he was capable of being the best Point Guard in the NBA.

Chris Morris played the first seven seasons of his career in the National Basketball Association with the New Jersey Nets after playing for Auburn where he was a two-time First Team SEC Selection.  Morris was drafted fourth overall in 1988 where the Small Forward started nearly 80 percent of the games he played in for the Nets.  Averaging a shade under 30 Minutes per Game, Morris would showoff dunking skills and he had three seasons where he averaged 14 Points per Game.  Morris would show above average skills defensively and he was 18^th in Steals per Game in 1990/91 and 12^th in 1992/93. 

A former Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year at Duke, Mike Gminski was drafted 7^th overall in 1980 by the New Jersey Nets.  The “Big G” was used off the bench in the first four seasons but would take over the starting Center role for the team in the 1984/85 campaign.  Gminski would be in the top 20 in Offensive Rebounds (if we count the season he was traded midway to Philadelphia) as a Net and he was not a bad scorer.  In his last three seasons with the Nets he averaged over 16 Points per Game and for a Center he was a good free throw shooter where he had three seasons of a Free Throw Percentage over .840.

Drafted 8^th Overall in 1996, Kerry Kittles has a good rookie season averaging 16.4 Points per Game, which he improved to 17.2 as an NBA sophomore.  He regressed the seasons after and he would have to sit out the 2000/01 season due to a knee injury.  Upon his return the Nets were an improved team with the addition of Jason Kidd and he would help them go to two straight NBA Finals proving himself to be a fine fit for the new Nets.  Kittles was capable of explosive runs and he was an underappreciated defensive player who was in the Top 20 in Steals five times.  Overall he averaged 14.3 Points per Game in 496 Games as a Net.

The starting Power Forward for the New Jersey Nets for the first five years of the 1990’s, Derrick Coleman got off to about his good a start as you would hope for when you draft a player number one overall like the Nets did in 1990.  As a rookie, Coleman won the Rookie of the Year Award with a double-double average of 18.4 Points and 10.3 Rebounds per Game.  In Coleman’s third season he reached the 20 Points per Game mark, which would be the level he would stay at for the duration of his stay in New Jersey while maintaining a double-digit board average.  He was named an All Star in 1994 and was a two-time Third Team All-NBA member as a Net.

Arriving to New Jersey as a draft day trade. Richard Jefferson would become an integral part of the Nets back-to-back appearances in the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.  The Small Forward would gradually grow his skills and at one time he was among the best mid-range shooters in the NBA.  Jefferson would twice go over 22 Points per Game (2004-05 & 2007-08) and over his seven seasons as a Net he had a PPG of 17.4.  While he was never an All Star, a case can be made that he is one of the best players ever who was never chosen for it. 

Vince Carter forced his way out of Toronto where he put the Raptors on the map and the landing point of “Air Canada” would be New Jersey. 

When Jason Kidd was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the New Jersey Nets in a mega-trade he was already established as the best Point Guard in the NBA, a mantle he kept in his few seasons with his new team.  Kidd transformed the Nets into a contender as they went from missing the playoffs to going to the NBA Finals.  Kidd missed out on being the MVP (which he probably should have won) but he again was a First Team All-NBA and First Team All-Defensive Selection.  Nobody in the history of the franchise ever turned around the team like Jason Kidd did.

Brook Lopez was the tenth overall pick in the 2008 Draft, and he proved immediately to be an excellent choice for the New Jersey Nets.  The former Stanford Cardinal finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, and in his fifth year, he was an All-Star.  The Center was played nine seasons for the Nets where he was often the team’s main score,r and he would have four campaigns where he exceeded 20 Points per Gam,e and he would have an 18.6 PPG for the team.  He was also an excellent blocker who finished in the top ten in Blocks per Game four times with New Jersey/Brooklyn.  Sadly, Lopez was not surrounded with a lot of other great players and he was only in the playoffs twice with the team.

In terms of duration, Buck Williams is the top of the Nets food chain as he is the franchise leader in Games Played, Minutes Played and is also the leader in Rebounds and is second all-time in Points.  This isn’t a bad way to start discussing Buck Williams and his time with the New Jersey Nets.

There is a lot to dissect when you are speaking about the career of Stephon Marbury, who as a player put up some impressive numbers.  The Point Guard had seven seasons with a PER over 20, would have the most Assists in the 2003/04 Season and averaged 19.3 Points per Game.  “Starbury” would go to two All-Star Games and was twice a Third Team All-NBA selection.  That is the positive part but, in the NBA, he left nothing but scorched earth behind him.  He wanted out of Minnesota, the team that drafted him as he allegedly disliked being in Kevin Garnett’s shadow.  He played well in New Jersey but couldn’t take them to the playoffs and the Point Guard they traded him for (Jason Kidd) took them all the way to the Finals.  His tenure in New York resulted in multiple clashes with coaches and the Knicks rarely were good while he was there.  He did however become a leader, team player and champion in the Chinese League, but that probably won’t factor much in the overall Hall of Fame calculation.

Richard Jefferson may never have been an NBA All Star but it can certainly be argued that he was on the cusp of it in multiple seasons.  The best seasons of Jefferson’s career took place with the New Jersey Nets where twice he averaged over 22 Points per Game and another 19 PPG campaigns.  Later in his professional career as a reserve player with the Cleveland Cavaliers he would win a NBA Championship.

The third overall pick of the 2005 NBA Draft, Deron Williams had taken the University of Illinois Fighting Illini to the NCAA Championship Game prior to being drafted.  While Illinois lost to UNC, Williams established himself as a future NBA Star, which was what he would become. 

One of the best shooters ever, Otis Birdsong could flat out score. A great scorer at the University of Houston, Birdsong became one of the great shooting guards in the NBA in the early 1980’s with both the Kings and the Nets averaging 18 points a game for his career.  Being a four-time All-Star helps his case but low career totals (just over 12,000 points) hurts.

Michael Ray Richardson could very well be the Dave Parker of basketball.  Michael Ray had all the talent in the world and was well on his way to a Hall of Fame career but cocaine got in the way.  When drafted out of tiny Montana with the fourth pick of the 1978 draft he was hailed as the next Walt Frazier as he had those kinds of offensive and defensive skills; and he did not disappoint.  He became the first player ever to lead the league in assists and steals in his second season and the Garden faithful loved him.  However, he was traded to Golden State as compensation for the signing of Bernard King.  Richardson would then be quickly dealt back to the East Coast where he was sent to New Jersey.  He led the Nets to one of the biggest upsets in NBA history in 1984 when they shocked the defending champion, Philadelphia 76ers.  Things soon unraveled after that and Michael Ray was out of the league by 1986 with a lifetime ban.  A four time All-Star and two time All Defensive First Team selection, Michael Ray had the talent to be an all time great.  Sadly, drugs got in the way.

Buck Williams is considered one of the best power forwards of all time. He was a hardworking player who excelled in rebounding and defense, and was also a solid low post scorer. Although he was not as flashy as some of his contemporaries, Williams had a long and successful career, playing in the tenth most games of all time and being one of only seven players to have scored over 16,000 points and grabbed over 13,000 rebounds. Despite never playing on a championship team, Williams was a vital part of some very successful teams and always played the game with the right attitude. 

Williams has yet to be inducted, but he feels due.