Is Jay-Z trying to deliver the “Professional Ether” to the Knicks as we come closer to the start of NBA Free Agency?
The truth is Jay-Z owns a very, very, very small part of the Nets, but perception is sometimes better than reality. The reality is that Jay-Z is a global icon — and new Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov knows using him as part of the future Brooklyn Nets is a great way to lure free agents.
Jay knows being associated with a billionaire can only increase his status, and possibly bringing LeBron to the Nets would take it to an even higher level.
Here are the details:
By Thursday – the start of the free-agent negotiation period – the entire 225-x-95-foot mural featuring Prokhorov and Jay-Z standing next to each other with “The Blueprint For Greatness” and a Nets logo on it will be complete. It strategically overlooks the Garden.
“That billboard is the anchor to an aggressive marketing platform for key transit hubs from Manhattan to Newark,” said Nets CEO Brett Yormark, the likely mastermind behind this.
“It’s a pretty aggressive campaign around free agency. It’s one of the biggest advertising spaces in the city. What better place to make a statement.”
One statement certainly seems to be that the Nets wanted the Knicks to know they plan to be winners in free agency if not rule the big city. Remember what Prokhorov said last month:
“I have only one secret. We’re going to turn Knicks fans into Nets fans. It’s a part of success.”
While it is hard to imagine the Nets ever being bigger than the Knicks in the NYC, if somehow they could convince LeBron to come it wouldn’t be out of the question.
In the end, I don’t think LeBron goes to either team. I do think if he picked between the two, it would be the Nets over the Knicks.
The Curse of John Starks will continue.