Buried at the bottom of ESPN's feature on what's next for the Mavericks is a discussion of what team will be the next to win its first NBA crown...following Dallas' achievement. Of the five reporters and bloggers, two chose the Nets.
Doesn't mean they'll win it next year...just that they could be the next franchise to win its first NBA title...at some point.
Marc Stein of ESPN put the Nets and Magic in the one category, Grizzlies and Clippers in another: "I narrow it down to four. Orlando and New Jersey because they've got legit franchise players (for now) in Dwight Howard and Deron Williams. Next in line are the seemingly unfathomable twosome of the Grizzlies and Clippers."
For Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game, the choice is the Nets, but he notes a lot of issues. "Shot in the dark: Nets. A question like this one requires banking on the hypothetical, but if Deron Williams stays with the team, if Williams' presence and the Brooklyn chip are enough to entice free agents, and if the Nets can get rid of some of their dead-weight contracts, New Jersey has a decent shot at contention in the long term."