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September 27, 2009
Tricky times ahead for New York Nyets
Newsday
By Neil Best
From the viewpoint of only what is best for the Nets franchise, this article only expresses concern that the proposed Atlantic Yards project might not happen and scuttle any deal with Mikhail Prokhorov.
Could all this just be an elaborate hoax designed to make us care about the Nets and their glacial move to Brooklyn?
Because face it, Mikhail Prokhorov seems too good to be true for a team that has toiled in the shadows of New York-area sports since it dumped another 6-7 guy with flare: Julius Erving.
The tall tales emerging this week of the Russian deca-billionaire and international man of mystery offer elements of everything from "Entourage'' to "The Sopranos,'' all wrapped in a nation known for centuries as one of Earth's great enigmas.
For the sake of argument, let us assume he is for real, the richest man in Russia spending a pittance of his estimated wealth - $200 million - to buy 80 percent of the Nets and partner with current owner Bruce Ratner in his planned new arena (and real estate development) in Brooklyn.
If such a man were on the verge of purchasing the Yankees or Giants or even Knicks, there would be much hand-wringing over what an overseas oligarch might mean for a beloved, traditional franchise.
But the Nets are such an afterthought that this can only be viewed as a good thing for the NBA, whose owners still must approve the deal but seem unlikely to discourage foreign dough.
...
Even Prokhorov must answer to political realities and complexities in Russia, a factor that might have been reflected in what at first seemed to be a peculiar post on his blog upon agreeing to the Nets deal.
In it he strangely linked buying the Nets to improving Russian basketball by tapping into U.S. training methods. The strategy became clearer when Russian legislators hammered him for spending money overseas.
"I can't consider this action as anything other than unpatriotic,'' Aslambed Aslakhanov, a member of the upper parliament chamber's sports committee, said via the state news agency RIA Novosti.
"We also have talented children here, but sports isn't being developed. They're not trying in order for us to return to our former sports ranking of the best in the world.''
That was a hint that there are potential hurdles to come, from lingering political opposition to the new arena in Brooklyn to who knows what sort of pressure back home, where Russia remains proud and protective of its athletic fortunes.
Will the story turn out to be too good to be true after all? Please, nyet.
Posted by steve at September 27, 2009 10:55 AM