Having the second worst record in the Eastern Conference isn’t great but when your franchise is worth an estimated $2 billion dollars, some things can actually end up working in the long run.
Brooklyn Nets majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov was in discussions earlier this year to take over 100% ownership of the team and it not appears that he’s finally been given the green light to take over the team in full.
Following from Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.
Mikhail Prokhorov and real estate developer Bruce Ratner’s Forest City Enterprises Inc. have reached an agreement that will give the Russian billionaire sole ownership of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center, according to two people with direct knowledge of the talks.
Prokhorov, through his Onexim Sports & Entertainment, currently owns 80 percent of the NBA team and 45 percent of the Brooklyn arena, which opened in 2012 and is also home to hockey’s New York Islanders. Forest City owns the remaining stakes.
Gaining control of the arena — and full ownership of the team — would make it easier for Prokhorov to sell all or part of either asset, including minority partnerships in the team, arena or both.
Whether this is a power play from the Russian billionaire to eventually sell the team has yet to be determined. For now, he will be owning the team in full and he will have free reign to do what he pleases, including weird training sessions during training camp.
