The board of YankeeNets is expected to review at least three bids for its New Jersey Nets basketball team after Monday night's second-round bidding deadline, people familiar with the auction said.

The offers are likely to be in the neighborhood of $250 million, but price will not be the sole determining factor. Each of the three near-certain bids envisions a different home court for the two-time Eastern Conference champions.

YankeeNets' advisers, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers, are expected to pore through the bids this week and make a recommendation to the YankeeNets board, which may decide how to proceed as early as next week, people close to the deal said.

It could decide to negotiate exclusively with one, or continue discussions with multiple bidders, they said. A sale of the team is not certain, either, one person added.

Charles Wang, the owner of hockey's New York Islanders and the retired chairman of Computer Associates, aims to move the Nets out to Long Island from New Jersey.

New Jersey real estate developer Charles Kushner and Sen. Jon Corzine also want to buy the team and have been working with state officials on a plan to upgrade the team's existing stadium, the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

Developer Bruce Ratner has been angling to buy the Nets and move them to Brooklyn, but the strength of that offer remains unclear.

All three submitted less-detailed first-round bids a month ago. None could be reached for comment and a YankeeNets spokeswoman declined to comment.

The National Basketball Association is thought by at least some sports executives to favor keeping the team in New Jersey, if only for league stability.

YankeeNets is a sports holding company that has been riddled with management disagreements since its inception about four years ago. In addition to the New York Yankees baseball team and the Nets, the group owns sports cable network YES and has a stake in the New Jersey Devils hockey team.

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