Roughly one year after installing general manager Sean Marks and head coach Kenny Atkinson and committing to an extensive rebuild, Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is looking to sell a 49 percent stake in the team, per the Associated Press (via ESPN):
Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has told Russian media he’s selling a 49 percent stake in the NBA club.
The Russian billionaire announced his intention to sell a minority stake in December, and now says “49 percent of the Brooklyn shares are up for sale,” in comments reported by R-Sport.
He adds that “currently the process is going on and we are looking for a buyer.”
Prokhorov has said he’s committed to remaining the Nets’ majority owner and has been shopping a minority stake in the team for a while, per Nets Daily. Though a few potential buyers have emerged, Nets Daily says the “price is high,” and there are some concerns about whether minority owners would be “granted the option” to eventually buy a controlling stake.
For basketball purposes, the Nets just need to hope Prokhorov is serious about remaining the majority owner. Someone else may want to deviate from the current plan, forcing the organization into yet another state of unrest. Brooklyn isn’t a team you buy without taking stock of the current situation, but Marks and Atkinson have an understanding with Prokhorov, and there’s no guarantee that would carry over to a new regime.
Fortunately for the Nets’ front office and players, given what Prokhorov has repeatedly said about remaining in charge, it does’t seem like it will come to that.
