A part of Jason Kidd wishes the Nets took a chance on Shareef Abdur-Rahim's questionable knee, but overall the star point guard liked the team's off-season moves.

"From the first year when I got here, we are a lot deeper," Kidd said Friday morning before taking first-grader Angelique Allen to school as part of a season-ticket sweepstakes. "And offensively, we are off the charts. I think that we shouldn't have too many lulls offensively because we have shooters everywhere now."

But Kidd probably would have taken a shot on Abdur-Rahim, whose six-year, $38 million deal was rescinded by the Nets after something showed up on his knee during a routine physical.

"I'm a high-risk taker on the court in the sense of trying to squeeze things in there, so as a player, yeah," Kidd said. "But I am not the one who signs the checks.

"Also, the business outlook, you don't want to put your team in a situation where you are locked into somebody that maybe down the road can't play or it was just going to be a bad decision. We wish Shareef the best in Sacramento. We have our team and we like our odds."

Kidd praised owner Bruce Ratner and president Rod Thorn, especially for recovering from the Abdur-Rahim fiasco. After losing him, the Nets acquired Jeff McInnis, Marc Jackson, Scott Padgett and Lamond Murray.

Travis Best is going from 10 seasons of Eastern Conference play to playing in Russia, meaning his NBA days are all but done, according to the Sacramento Bee.

The 5-11 guard from Georgia Tech has played for the Pacers, Bulls, Heat, Mavs and Nets.

The New Jersey Nets moved closer to making a new home in Brooklyn on Wednesday when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to sell an 8.3-acre railyard to team owner and real-estate developer Bruce Ratner.

Ratner will pay $100 million for the downtown Brooklyn site where urban planner Robert Moses once turned down the Dodgers' push for a domed baseball stadium, helping prompt the team's move to California in 1957.

The vote by the nation's largest public transit system keeps the Nets on schedule to be playing by November 2008 in a Frank Gehry-designed Flatbush Avenue arena at the heart of a 21-acre office and apartment complex.

Ratner doubled his original $50 million bid after a last-minute, $150 million bid in July from Manhattan-based Extell Development Co. prompted second thoughts from MTA board members.

The agency has had the railyard appraised at $214 million.

Nets owner Bruce Ratner and the Metropolitan Transpotation Authority appear to have reached a deal that would allow Ratner to buy the nine-acre rail yard in downtown Brooklyn for the Nets' proposed arena.

The two sides have been locked in exclusive negotiations for six weeks and had until today to reach a deal. Earlier this week, Ratner doubled his original offer for the rail yard to $100 million. While neither side would comment on the negotiations, the MTA set a special board meeting for Wednesday to consider Ratner's proposal. The state agency usually only makes such a move after it has reached a deal.

Ratner is planning a $550 million arena designed by architect Frank Gehry at Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues in downtown Brooklyn. The arena, which would be the most expensive building of its kind in the country, would also be the centerpiece of a community of thousands of apartments and office buildings to be built during the next decade.

The Nets plan to move to Brooklyn for the 2008-09 season.

The New Jersey Nets have signed free-agent forwards Lamond Murray and Scott Padgett, the team announced Thursday.
The 6-foot-7 Murray, 32, has averaged 11.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in 10 seasons with the L.A. Clippers, Cleveland and Toronto and shot 44 percent from 3-point range last season for the Raptors.

The 6-foot-9 Padgett, 29, in his seventh season, averaged 4.6 points and 2.8 rebounds with Utah and Houston.

Last month, the Nets signed guard Jeff McInnis and forwards Marc Jackson and Linton Johnson, and re-signed forward Clifford Robinson, who appeared in 29 games for the team last season.

Lamond Murray, cut by the Raptors on Friday, will be given a one-year deal for the veteran's minimum ($1.138 million) from the Nets once he clears waivers and passes his physical, according to league sources.

The Nets also agreed to terms on a two-year deal with Scott Padgett. The veteran forward, who will make $1.6 million in the upcoming season, also must pass his physical before the deal becomes official.

The routine physical has proven dicey for the Nets this summer. Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Robert "Tractor" Traylor had their New Jersey deals voided because they failed theirs.

The Post has also learned the Nets rejected Robert Traylor due to a heart problem along the lines of Laker draft pick Ronny Turiaf. The Lakers rookie has an enlarged aorta and needed an operation last month.

The Nets didn't want to take a risk on a player who might need surgery down the road.

The Nets have found their replacement for Brian Scalabrine and filled the spot that Robert "Tractor" Traylor was expected to have.

Veteran forward Scott Padgett has agreed to terms on a multiyear deal with New Jersey, pending a physical examination that he will take next week, Nets president Rod Thorn said Saturday.

The 6-foot-9 Padgett, who has averaged 4.6 points in 355 games for the Jazz and Rockets, will get the $1.6 million the Nets had remaining on their midlevel exception. That was originally supposed to go to Traylor, but he failed his physical and the Nets voided their deal with him last week.

With Padgett, the Nets would have 13 players under contract. They are expected to add one more, and it could be Lamond Murray.

As expected, the veteran swingman, who played college ball with Jason Kidd at California, was waived by the Toronto Raptors on Friday. Once Murray clears waivers, the Nets could offer him a minimum contract, which is all they have left under salary-cap rules.

Other shooters who are on the Nets' radar are Wesley Person, Jason Kapono, Casey Jacobsen and DerMarr Johnson.

The New Jersey Nets have signed free agent forward Linton Johnson, Nets President Rod Thorn announced Thursday. As per club policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

"Linton is a versatile player with a strong defensive focus," said Thorn. He will add to our depth off the bench."

Johnson, the 6-8 product of Tulane, has played in 43 NBA games over the last two seasons with San Antonio and Chicago. Last season, Johnson appeared in two games for the San Antonio Spurs, totaling three rebounds in 15 minutes.

In 2003-04, Johnson played in 41 games for the Chicago Bulls, averaging 4.2 ppg and 4.5 rpg. In 20 starts for the Bulls, Johnson posted averages of 5.6 ppg and 6.0 rpg.