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Richard Jefferson Manny Millan/SI FAST FACTS Record: 47-35 (3rd in East) Points Scored: 90.3 (23rd in NBA) Points Allowed: 87.8 (4th) Coach: Lawrence Frank (second season with the Nets) 2004 Schedule | 2004 Draft Picks | 2003 Stats With a league-high nine triple doubles last year -- no other player had more than three -- Jason Kidd tied Larry Bird for fourth on the alltime list (59). PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP With 2003-04 statistics AARON WILLIAMS POS. PVR PPG RPG APG BPG SPG FG% FT% C 179 6.3 4.1 1.1 0.64 0.47 50.3 67.7 JASON COLLINS POS. PVR PPG RPG APG BPG SPG FG% FT% PF 219 5.9 5.1 2.0 0.72 0.86 42.4 73.9 RON MERCER POS. PVR PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3FG% FT% SG 150 5.0 1.3 0.6 0.36 42.7 28.6 76.5 JASON KIDD POS. PVR PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3FG% FT% PG 51 15.5 6.4 9.2 1.82 38.4 32.1 82.7 RICHARD JEFFERSON POS. PVR PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3FG% FT% SF 39 18.5 5.7 3.8 1.12 49.8 36.4 76.3  BENCH PVR 2003-04 Stats F ERIC WILLIAMS 141 10.0 ppg 4.00 rpg 0.99 spg 38.6 FG% 27.6 3FG% F BRIAN SCALABRINE 204 3.5 ppg 2.5 rpg 0.9 apg 39.4 FG% 24.4 3FG% G JACQUE VAUGHN 224 3.8 ppg 1.6 rpg 2.7 apg 0.62 spg 38.6 FG% G-F RODNEY BUFORD 273 1.9 ppg 2.5 rpg 0.27 spg 33.9 FG% 50.0 FT% G ZORAN PLANINIC 330 3.1 ppg 1.1 rpg 1.4 apg 0.27 spg 41.1 FG%

With two stars gone and one on the mend, this team is in for a long season

During a morning practice at training camp, Richard Jefferson leaped for a rebound, fired a quick outlet pass, sprinted to the left wing, caught a bounce pass and went up for an easy bucket. Typical hustle for the fourth-year forward out of Arizona -- and the kind of effort New Jersey will need from all its players, because knee surgery has sidelined franchise point guard Jason Kidd until at least December and cost-cutting by new owner Bruce Ratner led to the trades of All-Star power forward Kenyon Martin and shooting guard Kerry Kittles.

The Nets got three conditional first-round picks from the Nuggets in exchange for Martin, their leading rebounder and best defender; they got a 2005 second-round pick from the Clippers for Kittles, the franchise's second alltime leading scorer. And they got grief from Kidd, who has criticized the dismantling of a team that won conference titles in 2002 and '03.

Jefferson, on the other hand, has taken the high road; he even signed a six-year, $78 million extension over the summer. "[Team officials] told me that they weren't going to be able to sign [free agents]," says Jefferson. "But they also told me that next season, with the cap room we'll have, they would bring players in and get us headed back in the right direction."

In the meantime the Nets will go with such journeymen as Jacque Vaughn, Ron Mercer and Eric Williams. Until Kidd returns, Jefferson has to fill a leadership void in addition to carrying the scoring load, a responsibility he handled well last season. In nine games that Kidd and Martin both missed, Jefferson averaged 22.6 points -- 4.1 more than his season average.

"It's a different team," says Nets coach Lawrence Frank, "but change is a part of life and we're going to find a way to fight through it." -- Chris Mannix