Now a Real Rivalry: Nets vs. Knicks

During a promotional visit to Adidas in Portland Monday, MarShon Brooks and Iman Shumpert squared off, wearing their Nets and Knicks practice jerseys.  It was all in fun for the two rookies, but the competition between Brooklyn and Manhattan is finally turning serious.

Mikhail Prokhorov started it all a year and a half ago, when he promised "to turn Knicks fans into Nets fans", later adding, "I don’t think we want to be like the Knicks,", but rather the Lakers, that is, winners.  And who can forget the Blueprint for Greatness, the 'Melo Drama or the Deron Williams trade.

Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn's borough president and uber Nets supporter, added some fuel just before introducing Jay-Z. "I can't wait, for those Knicks, a.k.a. Manhattan Knicks, to step out of the way for what will surely be our NBA champions, the Brooklyn Nets," he said.

Now, a day after the announcement (and "Brooklyn Nets" trending worldwide all day on Twitter), the Nets have, in the words of Forbes' Tom Van Riper, an opportunity to get beyond the Knicks' "manufactured nostalgia" and "make some noise right away".

• Brooklyn Nets Ready to Pounce - Tom Van Riper - Forbes
• Jay-Z Wants You to Meet the Brooklyn Nets - Scott Cacciola - Wall Street Journal
• FanSpeak: Impact of Brooklyn Nets (Video) - Ryan Lundberg - ESPN New York
• They will be the Brooklyn Nets, Jay-Z will open the building - Kurt Helin - NBC Sports
• The Nets will still be the Nets in Brooklyn - Eric Freeman - Yahoo! Sports
  
• Jay-Z aims to steal Knicks fans for Brooklyn Nets with pitch to Lower Manhattan - Rich Calder - New York Post
• Rapper Jay-Z Announces Barclays Concerts (Video) - Jeanine Ramirez - NY1
• Is Keeping the Name ‘Nets’ a Net Loss for Jay-Z and Brooklyn? - Matt Chaban - New York Observer
  
• Jay-Z Sees Brooklyn As Nothing But Nets - Barry Janoff - The Big Lead