NET NOTES

PHILADELPHIA – Jason Kidd said it “must be a 7-foot thing.”

Alonzo Mourning wanted out of New Jersey, then Toronto, and eyed a return to Miami. He got his wish. Elden Campbell never wanted to go to New Jersey, wanted to stay in Detroit. He appears on the verge of getting his wish. When Kidd sought to get out of New Jersey . . .

Well, he’s still a Net.

“Zo’s a competitor. I’m happy for him to be with Miami. I wish him the best of luck,” Kidd said of Mourning, who should be with the Heat when Miami invades the Meadowlands tonight. “He waited. But he had a plan. His plan worked out for him.

“His situation is a lot different than anybody else in this league. You talk about his health. He’s playing to try and win a championship. And he felt the two teams he was with weren’t going in that direction,” Kidd said, noting Campbell “must have the same lawyer.”

Campbell was bought out by the Nets and is expected to re-up with Detroit once he clears waivers.

“I don’t think he really wanted to leave that situation. He got back to where he wanted to,” Kidd said.

As for Mourning, who was less than kind toward the Nets, Kidd offered, “That’s Zo’s speaking the way he feels. He has a right to say what’s on his mind. Some people may like it and some people don’t.”

*

Nets yesterday activated Rodney Buford, out since tearing ankle ligaments in Utah during the final game of the Nets’ 3-2 western road trip Jan. 29.

Buford, who started 17 games, was averaging 8.8 points and 3.7 rebounds. He missed a total of 15 games.

When will Buford be ready contribute again? “I don’t know,” said coach Lawrence Frank. “You have to kind of read it, see where he’s at, there’s always a adjustment period, his last game was at Utah. Just from timing or rhythm . . . but he’s definitely going to be able to help us, just from his ability to stretch a defense by making shots.”

More help is coming as Brian Scalabrine nears a return from knee surgery.

“Maybe tomorrow. That’s what I’m hearing,” said Scalabrine, who said he is able to do “almost everything.”

Frank said if Scalabrine is not ready tonight, then Saturday against the Magic is virtually certain.

Nets lost their only ABC game of the season when TV bumped them from their March 20 game at Indiana.