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You can always tell which free agents a team really wants: they're the guys who were courted starting at midnight last night.

For the New Jersey Nets, that guy was Portland forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Marc Stein on ESPN says Nets Coach Lawrence Frank was on the doorstep in full woo mode at the stroke of midnight:

Nets coach Lawrence Frank, according to league sources, took a flight Thursday so he'd be able to see Abdur-Rahim right after midnight ... and not just to reminisce about their days together in Vancouver.

It was a multi-pronged attack. At the same time, according to Dave D'Alessandro of the Star-Ledger, the Nets' front office guys worked the phones.

Hence, the first call Thorn and GM Ed Stefanski made at 12:01 this morning was to Aaron Goodwin, agent for Portland forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim. While there will be a great deal of competition for the nine-year veteran, the Nets believe they have an advantage for one reason: Abdur-Rahim's relationship with Lawrence Frank. They worked together for three seasons in Vancouver and even attended each other's wedding.

Abdur-Rahim should be at least a little flattered. D'Alessandro proves that with this great little anecdote about another player who wants the job alongside Jason Kidd and Vince Carter.

In the late evening of April 20, on a typically dismal night at the Air Canada Centre, Raptors forward Donyell Marshall looked up at the out-of-town scoreboard and saw that the Nets had been triumphant in their must-win game at Boston.

"Well, well," the 11-year veteran said to someone seated beside him. "It looks like my new team is going to the playoffs."