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September 24, 2009
LeBron coming to the Nets?
Yahoo! Sports
by Mark Miller
Prokhorov's rubles could change everything, especially how the Nets approach the big-name free agents of next summer: LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Amar'e Stoudemire.
There's even a rumor that the basketball-loving Russian could bring back the wacky and cool design that famed architect Frank Gehry had for the proposed new arena (that might never get built) rather than the eventual ultra-blah airplane-hangar-like building that Ratner ended up with due to lack of dough to throw around. That is no longer a problem for the Nets.
NoLandGrab: Where do we start? First, in the best case, the Nets are stuck in New Jersey until at least midway through the 2011-2012 season, and that's pushing it. Next, yes, Prokhorov appears to have deeper pockets than Ratner does, but as long as the Nets remain in New Jersey, they will continue to bleed money, and even if the oligarch is willing to spend, the NBA has a salary cap. The smart money is still on LBJ re-signing with the Cavs.
As for the Gehry design coming back, that would appear to be pure fantasy. Prokhorov loves basketball, but no one's accused him of loving architecture.
Posted by eric at September 24, 2009 11:26 AM