The Nets selected SG/SF Terrence Williams with the 11th pick of the NBA Draft last night. The 21-year old Williams played in 140 games in his four years at Louisville and he averaged 11.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Williams is expected to replace Vince Carter in the starting lineup but he’s nowhere near him as a player. He’s not much of a shooter hitting only 40% from the floor and 58.9% from the free throw line. Still, Williams is a good athlete so he should be able to continue to improve as a player.

The Nets have traded 32-year old SG Vince Carter and 21-year old forward Ryan Anderson to the Magic for 32-year old point guard Rafer Alston, 33-year old center Tony Battie and 23-year old SG/SF Courtney Lee. Carter was the face of the Nets the last couple of seasons. He played in 80 games (all starts) for the Nets last season and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Anderson played in 66 games (30 starts) for the Nets as a rookie last season and he averaged 19.9 minutes, 7.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. This move amounts to little more than a salary dump for the Nets who will be looking to make a play for LeBron James or Dwyane Wade in free agency next summer.

If the Nets move Devin Harris to shooting guard than Rafer Alston would be the likely starting point guard for the Nets this upcoming season. Alston played in 77 games (76 starts) for the Rockets and Magic last season and he averaged 31.8 minutes, 11.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Alston has now played in 619 games (414 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 29.0 minutes, 10.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Tony Battie will likely be nothing more than a backup center this season for the Nets. Battie played in 77 games (3 starts) for the Magic last season and he averaged 15.6 minutes, 4.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Battie has now played in 757 games (418 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 22.2 minutes, 6.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Courtney Lee is the big key for the Nets as he could start for them possibly at small forward or shooting guard. Lee played in 77 games (42 starts) as a rookie for the Magic last season and he averaged 25.2 minutes, 8.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

The Nets have a team option for G/F Jarvis Hayes and they should exercise it based on his play last year. Hayes played in 74 games (1 start) for the Nets last season and he averaged 8.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 24.8 minutes per game. Trenton Hassell has a early termination clause in his contract but he shouldn’t opt out. He played in 53 games (31 starts) for the Nets last season and he averaged 20.6 minutes, 3.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Hassell is a defensive stopper who plays with great effort setting a good example for some of the younger Nets’ players. Backup shooting guard Maurice Ager will probably be let go with no effort stopping him. He played in 20 games (0 starts) for the Nets last season and he averaged 4.9 minutes, 1.7 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.2 assist per game.

Center Brook Lopez, forward Ryan Anderson and guard Chris Douglas-Roberts all appear to have bright futures for the Nets. Lopez has played in 13 games for the Nets this season and he is averaging 25.1 minutes, 9.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Expect Lopez to keep getting big time minutes as long as he continues to produce. Ryan Anderson has played in 11 games for the Nets this season and he is averaging 16.7 minutes, 7.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Douglas-Roberts hasn’t played as much as the other two rookies of the Nets. He has played in 3 games for the Nets this season and he is averaging 11.7 minutes, 1.3 points and 1.7 assists per game.

25-year old center Nenad Krstic is leaving the Nets to play basketball overseas. Krstic has had injuries the last couple of seasons that have hurt his output. He played in 45 games (38 starts) for the Nets last season and he averaged 18.0 minutes, 6.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Krstic played 4 seasons with the Nets covering 226 games (201 starts) in which he averaged 27.0 minutes, 11.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. The Nets likely won’t miss Krstic too much as they have brought in some new big bodies for the 2008-09 season.