The Brooklyn Nets mortgaged some of their future by including three first-round picks in the deal that brought Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn. The results of the Nets' spending spree last season was a roster that cost nearly $200 million that got bounced in the second round, and Pierce left after just one season.
Mikhail Prokhorov says trade for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce done to help ‘Brooklyn brand’
Prokhorov admitted the Nets trade for Garnett and Pierce may have been done for marketing reasons rather than basketball reasons.
Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
But Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov doesn’t regret the move, and the Russian billionaire put on his best Darren Rovell mask Monday by admitting a big reason the deal was made to help the “Brooklyn brand,” according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News:
“I think we did a very good deal, and it was a great investment in the Brooklyn brand,” he said about the trade for Garnett and Pierce. “So I think you know that for me it was very important to invest some money to make the team better, and to invest some money in Brooklyn Nets brand. Because as soon as we moved to New York, it was a great lift for us, from a business point of view, but of course you have to invest to be like the top teams of the NBA. But if you look on the market cap, I think my investment’s minimum five, six times now more than I spent. So I have a nice get.”
The Nets’ basketball operations department lost $144 million last season, by far the most in the NBA. However, Prokhorov doesn’t believe the losses are a “big deal.” As he pointed out, the Nets are worth much more than the $200 million he bought the team for in 2010. So in that light, the losses aren’t all that bad. It also helps when the man is worth a fortune.
It should be noted that Prokhorov doesn’t currently have interest in selling his 80 percent majority stake in the team. He said he’s getting a lot of proposals to buy minority shares and is willing to listen to all offers, but he’s not giving up control.
In addition to all the financial talk, Prokhorov is an early nominee for Quote of the Year thanks to his thoughts on Jason Kidd’s departure.
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