"You see how much more things are evolving around here," says Richard Jefferson, the team's seventh-year forward. "At first you had a product that a lot of people weren't seeing and [Yormark] has found a way to get more and more people and sponsors to buy into that product."

For his part, Yormark, who often starts his day at 3:30 in the morning and sometimes works as many as 19 hours a day, says his secret is simply that he works harder than everyone else.

"I am probably one of the most aggressive sports executives in the country," Yormark says. "I am giving myself every day, every hour—that is just my makeup." Yormark's twin brother, Michael, is the president and chief operating officer of the N.H.L.'s Florida Panthers and is similarly intense; the two frequently try to top each other with creative ways to advertise sponsors and sell more tickets.

At a recent game, Yormark was seen hustling around the Izod Center checking in on everything from the quality of the food at the arena's Dewar's 12 Club restaurant, to the arrangements for a pregame birthday party held for a young fan, to helping a fan locate his courtside seats.

Yormark got his start in the sports business with the Nets in 1988 as a ticket salesperson, eventually rising to become an executive in the corporate marketing group. From there, he went over to head up corporate marketing at Nascar, where he helped secure the richest sponsorship agreement in American sports, Nextel's $750 million, 10-year deal to turn the marquee Winston Cup series into the Nextel Cup. Yormark's experience with Nascar, where practically every square inch of drivers' uniforms and cars is branded, is readily apparent in his approach to selling the Izod Center (In Yormark's marketing-speak, he's merely trying to "activate" every area of the arena.) Yormark has had so much success selling naming rights that he and the Nets have opened up a side business to help other venues, like the M.G.M. Grand at Foxwoods and Monmouth University, sell sponsorship rights for their properties.

For his latest challenge, lining up sponsors for the as-yet unbuilt Barclays Center, one might think it would be difficult to sell sponsorships on a new center that still faces some legal and community hurdles to breaking ground, but the idea of bringing basketball to a borough on the rise and offering the area's fans an alternative to the woeful Knicks has gotten lots of people excited.

"Sports returning to Brooklyn and the Brooklyn renaissance—we buy into it," says Gerard LaRocca, the chief administrative officer for Barclays Capital, who negotiated the company's deal with the Nets.

Yormark's going to have to adjust his approach in Brooklyn, where Barclays is looking for a more refined and uncluttered look and style. But Yormark claims he'll have no problems adapting to this challenge.

"Our strategy [now] is based on circumstances—in Jersey, we need to drive revenue and we are a tenant in the building," Yormark says. "When we go to Brooklyn, we have a celebrity architect and nobody has ever branded his work before. [We plan to] develop a program that is somewhat of a departure from what it is today."

Yormark displays all the confidence in the world that the Nets as both a business and a team will raise their game to a new level once they move.

"If you like us in Jersey, you are going to love us in Brooklyn," he says, with more than just a hint of bravado.