It might be more than a month until training camp begins, but that hasn't stopped Deron Williams from getting several of his teammates together in Los Angeles this week to begin preparing for the upcoming season.
For Jason Kidd, the fact most of his team — including starters Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett — already is putting in extra offseason work is music to the ears of the first-year head coach.
"Yeah, for sure," Kidd said after playing in The Barclays Pro-Am at Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City Thursday. "To be able to start gelling and getting to know each other [is good], because it is kind of a different team.
"For the young guys, Mason [Plumlee] and [Tyshawn Taylor], to be out there, [Garnett] and Paul and Joe, it just shows that these guys are going in the right direction, and being very professional. I know during the summer time they could do something else, but to come together for a couple days shows that they're trying to get ready and they want to win."
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The fact Williams — who Kidd is relying on to be the kind of floor general Kidd himself was for the Nets when he played for them — made the get-together in Los Angeles happen wasn't lost on his head coach, either.
"[Williams] had to put in a lot of work to get the guys to meet in one area," Kidd said. "But I think it just shows his growth, and that he's serious about winning."
The Nets put the finishing touches on Kidd's coaching staff Tuesday, when they officially announced the hiring of John Welch, which had been known since he worked with the team during Summer League, as well as Joe Prunty and Charles Klask.
All bring experience to Kidd's staff, and combined with previous hires Lawrence Frank, Roy Rogers and Eric Hughes give him a deep stable of assistants to help him through his first season.
"They're veteran guys," said Kidd, who was sporting a Nets hat and added he heard plenty of compliments about the team throughout the day. "They understand what it takes to win.
"Welch from [being in] Denver with George [Karl], he understands both sides of the ball. Joe Prunty, again, he's been in the league a long time. ... I was with him shortly in Dallas, but he understands what it takes to win, and Charles, he's a numbers guy and brings a lot to the table.
"I think I've got the people I wanted to help me understand what it takes to be a coach in this league."
tbontemps@nypost.com
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