Lowering expectations or facing reality? Yormark says Brooklyn not looking for championship "overnight"

It's almost certainly coincidental, but a day after Peter Vecsey told a Nets fan podcast that the team doesn't see this as a championship year, Brett Yormark told the Wall Street Journal, "Brooklyn wasn't looking for a championship team overnight."

In an interview with Alex Raskin, the Nets and Barclays Center CEO spoke about the Nets first half year in the borough, ticking off accomplishments and challenges. Bottom line, though, is that things are going well despite some on-court issues, like the firing of Avery Johnson after a month of poor play.

"Brooklyn wasn't looking for a championship team overnight, but they were looking for a team that was going to be hard working, competitive and relevant," Yormark said. "I think that has certainly happened. Now we got a very aspirational brand that people are consuming and we have a product on the court that people are really proud of. Together, they work really well."

Among the accomplishments of the new team are the previously reported rise in merchandise sales and the 15 sellouts out of 26 home dates. In addition, Raskin notes the Nets' official website is now in the NBA top 10, after years of being at or near the bottom of the pile.

Yormark also further explains his famous tweet following the Christmas Day blowout by the Celtics. He argues that it wasn't so much about the on-court performance as it was "performance issues." He told Raskin, "There were some issues that we needed to rectify and address and I think over the last month, as the team has gotten better, we, from a business perspective, have gotten better."

• The Month That Defined the New Nets - Alex Raskin - Wall Street Journal