Across two rivers in Brooklyn, the latest time-lapse video shows the last building standing in the way of Barclays Center coming down at a rapid pace. What a Ratner executive said might take five months is taking less than two. But Opening Night belongs to Newark. Politicians say it could be a dress rehearsal for a third NBA team in the region but Brett Yormark sees it as a dress rehearsal for something else, Brooklyn.
The Nets are committed to the city and the state until they pack up the trailers and move east in two years. Monday night, for example, Jordan Farmar's foundation will bring six patients from Newark Beth Israel's pediatric ward to the game and Billy King will present the Rutgers athletic director with a $75,000 check for the Eric LeGrand Believe Fund. Still, as Dave D'Alessandro writes, the prospect of "shipping out" is bittersweet. It's All New, but soon it will also be All Gone.
- Nets' time in Newark could be dress rehearsal for another team to call it home - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger
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Nets in Newark: Pro Basketball's Last Stand in New Jersey - Charles Paikert - South Orange Patch