That's what some of the Nets would want to be if they couldn't play NBA Basketball. The question was simple: What would you do if you were not an NBA player?

Alphabetically, those questioned:

MAURICE AGER: "Music production. I've been doing it for years. It's something I love. Hopefully, when I'm done playing, it's something I can fall back on."

Ryan Anderson: "My parents always told me I'd be a really good food critic. But I think I'd be a chef. I'd be awesome. I'm really into breakfast. I can make anything for breakfast."

As a food critic, you need two words for everything - salad was "crisp and zesty," entr?e was "piquant and flavorful," dessert was "wretched and bug-filled."

JOSH BOONE: "I would either be a police officer or a video game designer. Growing up, for some reason I always wanted to be a police officer."

He could always design games about cops.

VINCE CARTER: "Easy: quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If not, a quarterback somewhere. That's always been my dream. Then music, in a band. I've always loved music."

KEYON DOOLING: "It might sound clich?, but Basketball has been part of my life for a long time. It's the reason I got a full ride to college. I'd probably want to coach. If not, teaching. My mom was a teacher."

CHRIS DOUGLAS-ROBERTS: "I'd probably be talking my way out of something, so I'd be a defense lawyer." DEVIN HARRIS: "A high school principal." Really?

"No, not at all. But it sounds like a good answer. I have no idea."

TRENTON HASSELL: "Play football. Probably a defensive back, safety. I like hitting people. I don't like to be hit, but I like to hit people."

JARVIS HAYES: "I'd probably be coaching, recruiting. That's what I'd want to do. If not, I'd be in radio. I had a radio show in D.C. I was a food critic."

He could always review Anderson's breakfast creations. "Corn flakes were soggy and bland."

BROOK LOPEZ: "I'd want to be writing, maybe novels or screen-writing. I was going to major in creative writing at Stanford."

EDUARDO NAJERA: "I was always athletic, so maybe play pro baseball somewhere.

"But I'm a businessoriented guy. Right now, I'd try to take advantage of companies going down, buy them cheap, make some profit.".

BOBBY SIMMONS: "I'd be a teacher. I majored in education in college."

STROMILE SWIFT: "Real estate. Yeah, even now, real estate."

SEAN WILLIAMS: "I'd be a full-time student. I love school."

YI JIANLIAN: "If I was not an NBA player? Then I'd be in the CBA."

That's the Continental - not Chinese - Basketball Association.

Nets

PAST FOUR GAMES

DATE OPPONENT SCORE

Nov. 21 at Tor *W 129-127

Nov. 22 vs. LAC W 112-95

Tuesday at LAL L 120-93

Wed. at Sac *W 116-114

NEXT FOUR GAMES

DATE OPPONENT TIME

Tonight at Utah 9:00

Sunday at Phx 8:00

Tuesday vs. Was 7:30

Friday vs. Min 7:30

TV: YES * overtime