The Buzz Builds For Brooklyn ... and Springfield

Billy King has said that as Barclays Center gets closer he expects a buzz to build around it and the Nets. He doesn't have to wait. It's already begun.

As Brett Yormark arranges for tour after tour of the construction site, the reality of the Nets' new home becomes clearer to the visitors. Chris Broussard got his tour Wednesday and the former Nets beat writer says Barclays Center will not only change Brooklyn but the Nets as a franchise.

"The team that plays here, I thought, won’t be a joke, a laughingstock, second rate," Broussard wrote. "For all those still wondering whether the Nets will ever move to Brooklyn – stop wondering. It’s a done deal. After one more season in purgatory – sorry, Newark – the Nets will open the 2012-2013 season in what will certainly be the league’s finest arena."

Meanwhile, Al Iannazzone writes that the Nets' hybrid affiliation with the Springfield Armor is proof of "of how serious and committed owner Mikhail Prokhorov is about spending money to improve the overall operation and how the Nets are run."

• COMING SOON: THE BROOKLYN NETS - Chris Broussard - ESPN
• PHOTOS: Atlantic Yards' Barclays Center Flying Up - Kristen V. Brown - Prospect Heights Patch
  
• The Nets' transformation continues - Al Iannazzone - The Nets Insider
• D-League's Hybrid Affiliation Gaining Interest From NBA Teams For Next Season - Scott Schroeder - Ridiculous Upside