Things haven’t really turned out to well for Mihail Prokhorov as owner of the Brooklyn Nets.
He bought the team in 2010 and made it clear that his extreme passion for basketball, his risk-taking nature and desire to be No. 1, and his seemingly endless pockets and resources would lead the Nets to the promised land in the NBA as they moved to a new arena in Brooklyn.
He tried by acquiring a number of players such as Deon Williams, Joe Johnson, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in a trade with the Celtics that has maybe turned into the worst trade in NBA history.
That plan backfired as Williams began to breakdown, Pierce and Garnett were clearly in their twilight years and Joe Johnson became disenfranchised with the situation and the big gamble resulted in one playoff series victory and the largest luxury tax bill in NBA history in the 2013-14 season at $91 million.
The Nets are finally starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel in the aftermath of this disaster, but the damage has been done and the past few years have been nightmarish for a team devoid of talent, draft picks or hope.
Now according to the New York Post and Josh Kosman and Brian Lewis, Prokhorov is considering selling a majority stake of the franchise.
“Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, while focused on selling a minority stake in the franchise, has warmed recently to the possibility of offering a controlling slice of the team, sources close to the situation said.
The change of heart comes after the initial reaction to the minority stake sale was weak — and with interest in the Houston Rockets sale heating up, one source said.”
This is probably in response to the Houston Rockets being up for sale in the last few weeks and Prokhorov may be trying to beat the Rockets to the punch and recoup all of the money that he has lost since acquiring the team in 2010.
This seems to be the perfect time to sell an NBA franchise as popularity and finances have never been better for the NBA, and Steve Balmer’s $2 billion purchase price of the Clippers in May of 2014 set the market at what it is at now.
