Kerber Leaves, Beck Arrives On Beat

Fred Kerber, who has covered the Nets for 17 years, will not be following the team to Brooklyn. The plain-spoken Post reporter will be replaced by Tim Bontemps who he's mentored the last several months. Gary Sussman tweeted the news calling Kerber "a pro's pro."

Kerber, a friend of the site, has provided insightful and witty reporting on the Nets through the Cassell, Kidd, Harris and Williams eras, regularly scooping the competition. His well-told tales of Nets lure have entertained many a fan. (Who could forget his line when writing about the Nets draft pick Soumalia Samake, the son of Malian goat herders: "They should drafted the goat.")

Also announced by Suss Wednesday, Howard Beck, the Times' Knicks beat writer, will be moving from Manhattan to Brooklyn to cover the Nets next season. Beck provided some of the best coverage of the NBA lockout. In addition, Rod Boone of Newsday has joined the fray as the Long Island paper covers the Nets full time for the first time since they won their last championship, as an ABA team playing at Nassau Coliseum.