Can’t say we didn’t see this one coming.
It was only five years ago that Mikhail Prokhorov, Russian billionaire and maybe-Bond villain, doled out $220 million for 80% ownership in the then-New Jersey Nets. Since then, Prokhorov has moved the team to Brooklyn, built an incredibly expensive arena, and traded away a ton of first-round picks for over-priced, aging veterans.
Now that the team is very likely about to enter a long-term rebuilding process, with virtually no assets, Prokhorov is looking to sell the team according to Scott Soshnick of the Bloomberg News..
BREAKING: @BrooklynNets are for sale, 2 sources say. Mikhail Prokhorov hires Evercore to sell the @NBA team. Story posting soon. #sportsbiz
— Scott Soshnick (@soshnick) January 13, 2015
Despite driving the franchise into the ground and completely ruining the short-term future of the team, the Nets are still expected to fetch an offer in the $2 billion range that the Los Angeles Clippers sold for because they are in the top media market in the country.
So to recap: Prokhorov buys the Nets for $220 million, mismanages the team into oblivion, gets rid of all of his assets, and stands to make 10 times his investment five years later. Remember that next time owners complain about making money and the league is locked out.
