Aug. 6, 1999
SportsLine wire reports

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It's August, the temperature is high, and like last summer, so are expectations for the New Jersey Nets.

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"I think, on paper, we have one of the most talented teams in the league, but that's just on paper. But now we have to go on the court and prove it," forward Keith Van Horn said Thursday.

Nets owner Lewis Katz shared that sentiment at a news conference announcing Van Horn's six-year contract extension, announced Sunday, that should keep the team's leading scorer the past two seasons in New Jersey until at least 2006.

"He is clearly a linchpin in our hopes for a championship team. Hopefully, this year, with everyone healthy, we'll live up to our potential," Katz said.

The team had similar hopes last year, but lost 17 of its first 20 games, fired coach John Calipari and missed the playoffs.

The Nets posted a 13-17 record under interim coach Don Casey, and were beset by injuries. All-Star Jayson Williams broke his leg, Van Horn broke his thumb and shooting guard Kerry Kittles battled a bad knee, which has since required surgery. The team also lost point guard Sam Cassell and centers Jim McIlvaine and Rony Seikaly to injuries for extended periods.

"Last year was a disaster," Katz said. "This year we should be very competitive."

Cassell was traded in a deal that brought Stephon Marbury to New Jersey during the season, and Seikaly was put on waivers this week.

Van Horn, 23, who lives in Franklin Lakes with his wife and two children, said he was eager to stay with the Nets -- "Maybe I made it a little too obvious" -- and that Casey's rehiring played an "important role" in his decision.

He suggested that the team last season expected good results, but, "This year, we have the attitude that we have to go out and prove ourself."

By all accounts, the negotiation to reach a new deal with Van Horn was not difficult.

"We actually tried to drag it out to make it last two minutes," Katz said. "He is the cornerstone, certainly, of this franchise, along with Stephon and Jayson and Kerry, Jamie (Feick) and Kendall (Gill)."

Van Horn got an NBA maximum-length, six-year extension, valued at roughly $73 million.

"All of us should be optimistic for the future," Casey said. "This is one of the main tools that we have and we kept him."

Michael Rowe, Nets president, was also generous with praise: "In 10 or 15 years when Keith's time in the NBA may be up, we believe people will be talking about the next young kid that comes out as the next Keith Van Horn."

A 6-foot-10 power forward with the moves of a small forward, Van Horn averaged 20.5 points and 7.4 rebounds in his first two seasons. He averaged 19.7 points as a rookie and 21.8 last year.

Van Horn scored 20 or more points 28 times in the strike-shortened last season. He shot just under 43 percent from the field, including 30 percent from 3-point range, and was just under 86 percent from the free throw line, including a streak of 48 in a row.