Just to further complicate things, consider this: Rod Thorn may be in his last month as President of Basketball Operations.

That's the headline out of Dave D'Alessandro's latest mailbag.  He says it's not Mikhail Prokhorov who wants the 69-year-old to retire. it's his family.

"Thorn’s contract may be for zero years, if that’s his choice," Dave D writes, "And he might be leaning that way right now. The worst-kept secret in the organization (and around the league) is that The Boss is contemplating retirement as soon as he gets through the draft and free agency."

It's why Thorn has dodged questions about his contract, in spite of Prokhorov's public pronouncement that he wants to retain the team president. D'Alessandro does say that in the past week, "Boss-watchers say he’s a little more upbeat about how the offseason is going, and gives his old signals that he’s excited about planning long-term stuff."

D'Alessandro also gives his pro's and con's on draft prospects, suggesting power forwards are hard to guage and dismisses the Chris Paul speculation as just that, speculation.

• Nets Mailbag: Looking towards NBA Draft, free agency - Dave D'Alessandro - Nets Blast