But even Ratner admitted that it's hard to ignore the fact that the 7-foot Jianlian, who averaged 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 66 games in his rookie season with Milwaukee, will lure Chinese fans to the Meadowlands come October.
"We do have a tremendous Chinese-American market in the New York and New Jersey area," Ratner said. "If we have success on the court, we can tap into that market in a huge way."
It appears that the acquisition of Jianlian, 20, has already drawn considerable attention from the Chinese community, both in the United States and China.
Wednesday's news conference to introduce the players brought the largest turnout of Chinese print and broadcast media the team has seen in recent years.
"I think this is the right fit for me," Jianlian said through an interpreter. "It's a new, young team with a lot of talent."
Jianlian is also focused on the upcoming Olympic Games that are being held in his native China and playing with countryman Yao Ming, who is recovering from foot surgery.
"Yao just came back to practice with our team and I think he's going to be better than ever," Jianlian said. "I think we're ready to go."
Nets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said he was impressed by Jianlian when he worked out with him last summer.
"The first thing that impressed me was how tall he was," said Vandeweghe. "He also had an athletic body and could shoot the ball extremely well. I told him that if I ever got to another team, I would try to get him."
The team also introduced the 28-year-old Simmons, a native of Chicago and product of DePaul, who will enter his seventh NBA season. He slumped to just 7.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 71 games with the Bucks last year.
"It's going to be an opportunity for me to play around the basket and show my athleticism more," the 6-foot-6 Simmons said.
"I just want to go out and have fun. That's what it's all about."
The Nets also announced Wednesday that they have signed Chris Douglas-Roberts, their second-round pick in last month's NBA Draft.
Contract details were not disclosed.
Douglas-Roberts, a 6-7 guard from Memphis who was the 40th overall pick, helped lead the Tigers to the NCAA title game last April, which they lost to Kansas. He averaged 18.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game for Memphis last season as a junior and was named Conference USA Player of the Year.