NBA

New-look Nets open for Brooklyn business

Hello, Brooklyn!

At midnight, the Nets officially ended their 35 years in New Jersey and became the Brooklyn Nets, finally completing a move that has been several years in the making.

“It’s very exciting to be moving on and heading to [Brooklyn],” said Brook Lopez, who will be among those on hand when the team officially unveils its new color scheme and logos this morning at an event near its new home, the Barclays Center. “I’m very anxious. … I’d love to get it started right now.

“I think it’s something that’s going to have a ton of new energy, great energy, and something many people are going to want to be a part of.”

Ever since the team’s final home game in New Jersey ended last Monday night, the transition from New Jersey to Brooklyn has been in full effect. As soon as the game ended, visitors to the team’s website were greeted by a welcome page with a black background, with an outline of the team’s new logo and the Twitter hashtag #hellobrooklyn in white lettering underneath it, paying homage to their new home and to one of part-owner Jay-Z’s signature hits.

The Nets also are using the #hellobrooklyn campaign on billboards that have sprouted up around the city over the past few days. The billboards feature the same black-and-white color scheme, which will replace the red, white and blue colors the team has had since its beginnings in the ABA.

Avery Johnson has known this day was coming since he agreed to become the team’s head coach following the 2010 season. Now that it has finally come to pass, he’s excited about the possibilities the move across the Hudson River presents.

“It’s something that’s been coming for a while, and we’re finally here now,” said Johnson, who also will be at today’s unveiling. “It’s time for us to move on. We’ve anticipated this move for quite some time, and they have people here that have been anticipating this move long before I came here in June of 2010. I’m really excited for those folks and the people that are anticipating our arrival.

“Sure, there’s some sadness with fans that have been supporting this team for so long, but it’s just time to move on and we are all glad to be a part of this transition period and what’s waiting for our arrival in Brooklyn.”

The Nets hope they will arrive in Brooklyn with point guard Deron Williams, who will exercise the opt-out clause in his contract this summer and become an unrestricted free agent.

But Williams spoke positively of his trip to Brooklyn last week to visit the Barclays Center construction site. He will be the first test of how powerful the pull of playing in Brooklyn can be. The lures of playing inside the city limits of New York and in a brand-new arena are things Johnson thinks will draw free agents.

“We are in a new city and a new building,” he said. “You look at the effect it’s had on Oklahoma City. … That’s a good example for me, just moving into a new building. You saw it a few years ago when the Mavericks moved from Reunion Arena to a new arena.

“For us, we are moving to a new city, a new state and just a terrific building. So we feel all those things are going to be assets for us in trying to acquire free agents.”