A guy who knew they had a history - such as it was - long before Jason Kidd showed up.

A player who "can't wait to put that uniform on," as Rafer Alston proclaimed.

Some kind of joke?

"Some of my favorite players played for this organization," the Queens native said yesterday, after passing a physical that officially made him a member of the Nets . "You had Pearl Washington, Kenny Anderson. You name it - Albert King, Darwin Cook. I was born in '76, so I watched all that stuff - I was seven, eight, and they were rocking and rolling. I still remember when they beat the Sixers" in 1984.

Okay, so he named three New York guys, like himself.

But Alston also evoked Darwin Cook - ol' No. 12, the former franchise leader in steals and assists, who left New Jersey 23 years ago - and that's a giveaway that this guy is serious.

"It's funny, because when the season ended in Orlando, the writers asked if I expect to be traded," the 32-year-old point guard said. "And I said everyone should expect to be traded at some point, because it does happen. I thought if they were going to trade me, let me finish my career close to home. And, voil?, it happened."

There's no guarantee that Alston will actually remain with the Nets when the 2009-10 season begins. He was included in the Vince Carter deal primarily because his salary made the deal work, but once October rolls around, there is likely to be a lot of interest in a starting-quality, veteran point in the last year of his contract.

Especially one like Alston, whose prestige soared this past season because he accomplished one of the most difficult of all NBA tasks for a point guard: taking over a team in the midseason, and getting it all the way to June.

"The trade for Rafer saved Orlando's season," said TV analyst Jeff Van Gundy, who coached Alston for three years in Houston. "Although he obviously can't shoot as well as Jameer Nelson, Rafer pushes the ball hard, plays with passion, understands team defense, and had already played with a dominant big man in Yao, so he knew how to get the ball into the post. That was the most overlooked great personnel move of the season."

"Otis and Stan and the organization, they thanked me, I think, after each round," said Alston, referring to GM Otis Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy. "But it was a team thing, with the understanding that you're bringing in a point guard to help stabilize your team."

So when Nelson returned for the NBA Finals, Alston - for lack of a better term - was cast aside, particularly in the fourth quarter of Game 4.

He harbors no grudge. He admits that he wishes Stan Van Gundy could have better communicated his decision to bench him for long periods against the Lakers ("The thing is, we wanted to adjust to it"), but he left on good terms. And Alston left for a place he wants to be, mindful that he could be a third-stringer behind Devin Harris and Keyon Dooling, once the latter heals from hip surgery.

"Although you grow up a Knick fan, you're definitely a Nets fan because they're on your television just as much," Alston said. "So to me, it's definitely a dream come true. I'm excited not only to be with the Nets but to be able to play in front of family and friends, and also the opportunity to help a franchise turn things around."

* Notes: Yi Jianlian was also in the Nets practice facility yesterday, but he'll be around for only another week or so. He'll soon head back for China to join the national team and play in the Asian Games in August. ... Like every team, the Nets made their initial free agent inquiries yesterday - roughly a dozen in all - but they're not likely to make any bids until they can formulate a sign-and-trade scenario, vacate a roster spot, or wait to see whether any of the second-tier forwards (Linas Kleiza, Matt Barnes, Chris Wilcox, Drew Gooden, Channing Frye, Hakim Warrick) begin scrounging for one-year exception money.

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