NBA Expected To Confirm Mikhail Prokhorov As Nets Owner In April

Also from the Times today, we learn that Mikhail Prokhorov is purchasing the Nets at just the right time:

If only you’d had two hundred million dollars lying around…

Harvey Araton and at the New York Times have an article today that’s worth a look, if only for the goofy picture at the top. What’s more, the article cites Prokorhov and the Nets’ move to Brooklyn as signs of a new day dawning for a franchise that’s been a perpetual second fiddle for nearly its entire history.

If this sounds too good to be true for Nets fans, well, wait and see. There’s no telling how this will play out in the long run, but right now, it certainly appears as though Mikhail Prokhorov’s involvement is a sort of best-case scenario for the soon-to-be “Brooklyn” Nets.

This report from the New York Post will make it harder for opponents of this move to demonize Mikhail Prokhorov as a backward-thinking Russian. Apparently, his decision to move West is none too popular in his homeland the fatherland. And as we all know, if you’re pissing off the Russians, you’re probably doing something right:

See? They really do call it the fatherland.

Adrian Wojnarowski checks in today with a comprehensive piece looking toward 2010 free agency and beyond. Namely, what effect will Mikhail Prokhorov have on Lebron James, specifically, and NBA free agents, in general?

Once LeBron James(notes) meets Mikhail Prokhorov, the superstar’s sightline will reflect an unprecedented visage. When offering a global vision of business and basketball, here’s an NBA owner who can look James in the eyes. Russia’s richest man is 6-foot-7 with an air of cool and a tenacity of the streets. [...]

“He has the personality, the charisma and the wherewithal to reach any of the league’s young stars on a level that I don’t think other owners can,” David Vanterpool said by phone Wednesday. “He likes to go out. He likes to fly to Europe and go to the most exclusive resorts. He’s going to connect with these guys.“And then there’s this from Woj. A concession to the recession, if you will:

And he’d like an investigation, too. If only he’d got the NBA’s commissioner’s name right, this would be far less difficult to ridicule.

Some points from the actual letter:

Because he’s Russian, you know? And because he’s alledgedly corrupt (insofar as prostitution is really “wrong”). Anyway, the jokes can go in any number of directions, and a few writers have had some fun with this news on twitter today.

In no particular order...

More from CNBC’s Darren Rovell who predicted as early as 18 months ago that we’d see a spike in foreign ownership:

The entire article is great, and diagnoses a trend that could have any number of implications for sports leagues and their players. Will more games be played in Europe, for instance? Or, perhaps the greatest fear for owners: Will American owners find themselves getting squeezed out of the league in favor of European or Asian businessmen with more capital?

From the New Jersey Nets ownership group (when do we affix “Brooklyn” to the Nets?):

That last part. That would seem to be a blessing from the NBA’s Godfather, David Stern, who’s the only person I could think of that might have halted this deal. The Nets-to-Brooklyn move has seen its fair share of obstacles over the past few years, but with $200 million emerging to infuse the deal in a dead economy, this might just be the final push that the franchise needs to commence a move to the BK.

Julian Garcia of the New York Daily News checks in today with some interesting background on the New Jersey Nets’ newfound benefactor:

The Moscow Times reports: