With Eduardo Najera in town and locked up for two years, the Nets bench is looking better than ever.

Not only do they get a solid defender who can start or come of the bench, they get a guy who’s not a bad shooter either [anyone else notice how many three pointers he took last season?] and is a solid leader.

From the look of things, Najera is pretty happy to be in New Jersey as well. Aside from saying that he plans to be a teacher to the youngsters and play a heavy focus on his defense, he had a few other things to say as well.

“We’ve got young talented players,” Najera told PhillyBlurbs.com when asked of a roster that features Vince Carter and Devin Harris and also includes eight players with three or less years experience. “You see other teams, like New Orleans, they turned it around real fast. All they needed was a young talented guy that came in and led the way.”

The question is who is going to be that youngster?

At any rate, while the Nets are high on Jianlian, Sean Williams, Brook Lopez and Devin Harris, I have a feeling Najera isn’t speaking about any of them. As a matter of fact, I think he’s talking about…wait what the hell is he talking about?

Nonetheless, Najera, combined with Jarvis Hayes and hopefully Boki Nachbar [notice no Marcus Williams. I think that dude is being shopped as we speak] will give the bench the most depth they’ve had in quite some time.

Rod Thorn seems pretty excited right now as well. And damn, I think he has all right to be. For a team that traded away two superstars not too long ago, they made out pretty damn good and despite losing them, they’re more a multifaceted team than they’ve been in quite some time. Again, considering how traditionally weak the Eastern Conference has been over the past half decade and change, there’s no reason why the Nets can’t compete.

“I feel better about this team going forward than I did a month ago,” Thorn told Daily News Nets beat reporter Julian Garcia [who does a great job by the way] Wednesday after officially announcing the signings of the two most recent additions, veteran forwards Eduardo Najera and Jarvis Hayes. “We’ve gotten bigger, we’ve gotten younger and we’ve gotten stronger. Over the past six months, we’ve lost a great player in Jason and a heck of a player in Richard, so we’ll have to see. But long-term, I feel better about our team.”

According to Yahoo Sports writer Adam Wojnarowski, the Nets have signed forward Jarvis Hayes to a two-year contract, reportedly worth four million a season.

If you could have heard Hayes on the phone after the contract was signed, it probably would have sounded something like this:

There’s a party goin’ on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times, and your laughter too
We gonna celebrate your party with you

Watching this guy on Detroit last season was almost miserable. Wherever he’s gone, he’s been a more than adequate bench guy who can hit the open three and play solid defense. Why the Pistons cut his playing time in half was a mystery to me, but in the end, Hayes got the last laugh. Despite averaging only 15 minutes a game last year, a good seven minutes less than he’s averaged throughout his career, he was still scoring nearly seven points a game.

So what can Nets fans expect from him?

He’s th type of player that can play his game on any team. Expect another option off the bench who is dependable on offense and trustworthy on defense. With guys like Bobby Simmons, Sean Williams, Trenton Hassell and recently signed Chris Douglas-Roberts and hopefully Boki Nachbar coming off the bench, this team will have plenty of options. As I’ve said before, with the Eastern Conference being so weak, it’s an almost certainty that this team will be able to fight for the last two playoff spots.

On another note, the Nets also introduced Yi Jianlian and Simmons this past week to the media and I’ve got to say, you gave to be dead to not start getting excited about the potential of this team. Sure, not having guys like Richard Jefferson and Jason Kidd around at first is going to hurt, but at least they have a well-balanced team with both youth, size and speed.

Brook Lopez is going to be a fun player to watch and even though some insiders see him as a potential flop, he might surprise a few people with his shooting ability. I think with more polish on defense [when he's not blocking the crap out of shots] Sean Williams can develop into a solid NBA forward/center. With Josh Boone, I’d like him to take a few more chances on offense and use his size a little more.

Al in all, this offseason has been different from the past few years, but this season is looking to be a fun one, even if it is one that will go down as a developmental one.

With Vince Carter the only franchise player left on the team, I think it’s fair to say that a host of other players are going to have to step up their games in order for the Nets to be successful next season.

Two of those players are Devin Harris and Yi Jianlian. Promise can only get you so far in this league and it’s time Harris shows the rest of the NBA that he can be consistent on both ends of the court. As far as Jianlian goes, Nets GM Kiki Vandeweghe said he sees a lot of Dirk Nowitzki in him, which may be putting a bit too much pressure for the youngster, especially considering he’s only started 49 games in his short NBA career. Just like the Nets new forward however, the German Weapon took a year and change to develop into one of the best players in the league, but he had a much better supporting cast around him, which obviously sped up his development.

In order for guys like Yi and Harris to truly reach their potential Laurence Frank is going to have to make them earn their stripes and learn from their mistakes. Expect some blowouts on both ends of the ball this year guys. We’ve already seen what Harris is capable on both good and bad nights. Expect a very similar process for Yi.

If this team was in the West, I think it would be pretty easy to count them out of the playoffs, but considering how weak the East is, I don’t see any reason why this team can’t battle for the last playoff spot in the conference.

They just need players like Yi and Harris to step up.

On another note, for those who still don’t understand the logic in trading someone like Richard Jefferson for an unproven player and a bench player, I’ll tell you… cap space.

By getting rid of Jefferson, the Nets now have the cap space, over 20 million to go after a certain big name player in 2010.

I think most of you know who I’m talking about as well.

I can see it now, the team in Brooklyn with Lebron James pimpin’ down Atlantic Avenue with Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z not too far behind. The sound of dollar cabs bringing hordes of Nets fans to the Atlantic Yards on one end an the sound of the underground trains on the other. Ah, what a sight. Add in Vince Carter, Harris, Jianlian, Brook Lopez, Sean Williams, Ryan Anderson, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Josh Boone and this team is going to be young, deep, tough and wait, the best part, they’ll be able to rebound and shoot for a change!

I know it’ll be weird having a player larger than six foot three leading the team in rebounds, but I promise, it’ll be a worthwhile change guys, just wait and see.

Good times ahead people, just be patient. This upcoming season may not be pretty, but it may be the beginning of something great.

Looks like this site is going to need a banner change.

If you haven’t heard it yet, Richard Jefferson has been dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for forwards Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons.

Coming off the best season of his career Jefferson averaged over 20 points a game for the first time in his NBA career, but was still unable to lead the Nets to playoffs. With the loss of Jason Kidd this season, the team looks like they could be preparing to make room for an impact player.

Can anyone say Lebron James?

As a Brooklyn-Native and life-long Nets fan, nothing could be finer than seeing the King in BK, no pun intended. At any rate, it’s going to be a while until that situation plays itself out and for the time being, the Nets are going to have to make due with the team they have.

Yi averaged 8.6 points and 5.2 boards a game in 66 games this season. Those stats don’t exactly open up eyes, but the Nets are still convinced his best days are still ahead of him. Simmons is a proven player who gives the Nets more depth. If they keep Boki Nachbar, the Nets bench should be pretty damn solid, if you ask me.

“We feel that Yi can be a very special player,” said Thorn on the team’s official site. “He is a 20-year old seven footer who shoots the ball extremely well, and he is an excellent addition to our frontcourt. Bobby Simmons is a veteran NBA player who has averaged 10 points for his career and should be a rotation player for us.”

The Nets also drafted Marc Lopez, Ryan Anderson and Chris Douglas-Roberts with their three top-40 picks.

In Lopez and Anderson, the Nets get two more big men, giving them plenty of options with Josh Boone and Sean Williams already regulars. However, Lopez and Anderson have much more offensive skill and give the team much more depth on offense. Could this be the end of DeSagana Diop and Nenad Krstic’s time in New Jersey?

It looks to be that way.

Douglas Roberts is a 6′7 swingman who averaged 18 points a game his last season in College. Just like Simmons, his presence on the team will also solidify the Nets bench.

“We were surprised, very surprised,” said General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe on the team’s official site in regards to selecting Lopez. “A lot of people had him going number four and he was mentioned in a lot of places.

“I think that we got a good big man. Traditionally we at the Nets have been a very good perimeter team. We suffered a little bit with lack of low post scoring last year, lack of interior defense - with probably not a true center. And Brook Lopez is a true center and I think he’s going to be very, very effective at that position. Like all young players, there’s going to be a learning curve. And center is an extremely difficult position to learn in the NBA. But I think we got a good one.”