The Brooklyn Nets May Have Found Their First New Fan

Tuesday, basketball hall of famer/Brooklyn (NY) native Chris Mullin appeared on “The Michael Kay Show,” which airs every weekday on ESPN Radio New York.

During the segment, the former Golden State Warriors and St. John's legend was asked if he would have converted from a New York Knicks fan to a Brooklyn Nets fan, if the now former New Jersey based team had relocated to the borough of Brooklyn during his childhood.

 The famous lefty sharpshooter offered a quick, one word response to the question.

“Absolutely!”

Mullin, who proudly calls his vintage Brooklyn Dodgers cap his favorite, later explained his belief that the people of New York City's largest borough (Brooklyn's population stands at approximately 2.5 million) will gravitate to the team, because they will be the very first squad to call the area home since the Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles after the 1957 baseball season.  

Mullin believes the location of the Barclays Center (Nets new arena) will add an extra little bit of nostalgia to Brooklynites, because the complex will reside in the near identical spot where Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley had hoped to build the nation's first domed stadium, which would have replaced the quickly deteriorating Ebbets Field.

Mullin's comments must have been music to the ears of Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov and superstar rapper Jay-Z, the men, along with real estate developer Bruce Ratner, who make up the Nets' ownership group.

The Nets brass might be well served to find a role for Mullin within the new look organization.

The people of Brooklyn would probably love the idea of supporting one of their all-time best basketball players, a guy who has never lost the famous borough's unmistakable accent, despite spending most of his adult life living in the San Francisco Bay Area.