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September 24, 2009
A Nets longshot from Russia with love
NorthJersey.com
by Ian O'Connor
Bergen Record columnist O'Connor provides a must-read reality-check on this weeks developments.
Mikhail Prokhorov has formally introduced himself as Bruce Ratner’s human bailout package, and he sounds like a man who just jumped out of a helicopter in a James Bond script.
A tall, dashing Russian billionaire said to appreciate fast jets and faster women, Prokhorov has come rushing to the Nets’ rescue, pledging to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at Ratner for the right to ferry the team to Brooklyn on his personal yacht.
But before anyone counts this as a slam-dunk proposition, consider the Nets’ recent and past history on notions and events that appeared too good to be true.
...The Nets have long led the league in empty promises and broken hearts. Rick Pitino. Jim Valvano. Rollie Massimino. They were all done deals to save the Nets until, of course, those deals were undone.
...Truth is, Stern knows next to nothing about Prokhorov. He’s yet to see a single printout on the man’s background, and the league’s vetting process is expected to take months.
That vetting process won’t be any tougher on Prokhorov than it would be on an American tycoon, but it will be tough. The Russian needs approval from the league’s board of governors to become the first man outside of North America to lord over an NBA team.
...Ratner is racing the clock, too, as he needs to sell a reported $650 million in bonds and break ground on his scaled-down, Gehry-free arena by Dec. 31. One minority Nets partner said that Ratner stands to lose another $100 million in his final seasons in New Jersey, and that the team would’ve cost Ratner $800 million (including the $300 million purchase price) by the time he gets to Brooklyn.
If he gets to Brooklyn.
“Until Ratner breaks ground on that arena,” one ownership source said Wednesday, “nobody’s going to believe he’ll actually pull this off.”
...By peddling the Nets to Prokhorov, Ratner confirmed all suspicions that his ownership was never about love or basketball. It was about real estate. A damn good piece of it, too.
In the end, maybe Ratner’s human bailout package, Prokhorov, will prove to be the most dynamic force of front office energy to hit the NBA since Mark Cuban.
Or maybe this tall, dashing playboy from Russia will prove to be no more believable than a James Bond script.
The history of the Nets tells you to put your money on the latter, and to expect pro basketball in Newark in a few years’ time.
Posted by eric at September 24, 2009 1:52 PM