Last June 26, the Charlotte Bobcats were on the clock at No. 9, and they made it clear to Lopez's representatives that he was their choice. That was confirmed by several agents who were in touch with one of Lopez's agents - B.J. Armstrong, the former Bulls guard, who went ballistic as soon as the Bobs turned around and picked point guard D.J. Augustin instead.

Lopez himself now admits to being stunned - his face after the Bobs announced their pick told the story - but the Nets center is fine with falling to No. 10, where Rod Thorn grabbed him with both hands.

At the time, however, "It was a pretty big shock. I said, 'I feel like Brady Quinn,'" Lopez recalled, referring to the Cleveland Browns' quarterback who slipped in the 2007 NFL Draft. "I'm sure Brady heard about me saying that - I'm afraid to meet him now. But I'm glad how it ended up. I feel lucky the way it turned out."

Larry Brown was in the house, coaching the Bobcats to a 95-87 victory over the Nets, so another member of the Tarheel Mafia was asked why some players don't absorb the lessons from arguably the game's greatest teacher.

"Sometimes it's tough for a lot of the guys, because you go through the stages of being taught; and then on this level, you kind of want to fine-tune," Vince Carter explained. "But he wants to break down the game - that's the way he's been. And if you haven't been around him and don't know him well, you don't understand. That's why it can be tough."

Bobby Simmons returned to the Nets yesterday after having his second child Tuesday. The baby girl (7 pounds, 3 ounces) appears destined for greatness, having been named for a town in Jersey and the world capital for design, fashion and opera: Brielle Milan Simmons.

Simmons had missed three games, so Lawrence Frank stayed with Trenton Hassell as the starting small forward, and it almost paid off: Fresh off the bench, Simmons hit a 3-pointer to spark a 13-6 rally to close the third period; and then another 3-pointer to highlight an 8-0 run early in the fourth that got the Nets within 78-75 with 6:50 to play. He missed his last five shots, however.

The second returns of All-Star balloting were released Thursday, and Devin Harris has moved up from 10th place to fifth in the tally for Eastern Conference guards. Carter (600,087) remains third behind Dwyane Wade (1,229,858) and Allen Iverson (858,469).

Harris reiterated yesterday that he'd love to make the cut: "It's what we work for in the offseason," he said. He conceded that there are "great players with teams that aren't doing too well," and added, "I'm just going to concentrate on the team right now and make sure we're winning games we're supposed to."

Dave D'Alessandro may be reached at ddalessandro@starledger.com