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September 27, 2009
Politi: For NJ Nets, Russian oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov only latest in string of wacky owners
The Star-Ledger
By Steve Politi
This article sees Bruce Ratner's attempt to sell the Nets as yet another episode in ownership that hasn't worked out well for the franchise. This item concludes with the most recent history of the Nets as unfondly remembered, and the future seen as dim.
There were two trips to the NBA Finals but, finally, no new home in Newark. Ratner is an easy target now, but it was Katz who ultimately sold the team to a developer who made his intentions clear from the beginning.
Now, it is Ratner struggling to complete his goal for the team, to turn the Brooklyn Nets into the linchpin for Atlantic Yards. Like nearly everyone else who has owned this team, he has lost hundreds of millions in the process.
Prokhorov is his bailout plan, and he’ll only come aboard if the move to Brooklyn is complete. He has a history of spending whatever it takes to build a winner with his basketball team in Russia, but can a man from eight time zones away really be the answer for this team?
“Your guess is as good as my mine,” said David Gerstein, one of the Secaucus Seven who is still a small investor in the team. “I wish them luck. It could be a great thing for the team and the NBA.”
It could be. Or it could be an unprecedented disaster that involves two continents, millions of rubles and whispers of involvement from the Kremlin. When it comes to Nets owners, the trend is usually down.
Posted by steve at September 27, 2009 9:44 AM