The New Jersey Nets will be a team that will make many changes in the coming future – some have already started. Mikhail Prokorov – Russia’s richest man – has bought a controlling share of the New Jersey Nets. What this means for the Nets remains to be seen. The Nets were one of the “cheapest” teams with an estimated team value of $295 million – buying them now was a smart idea on Prokorov’s part. Prokorov was a former basketball player and has fortune of $9.5 billion. This also marks the first time in NBA history that a foreigner has owned a NBA franchise.
The Nets own fortune should improve in the coming years because of the opportunity to move to New York City in Brooklyn. New York is the largest market in the world so the change in location would make sense. The Nets are in desperate need of a new arena and a change in venue could breathe new life into the franchise who hasn’t done much in recent seasons.
The Nets finished last season 14 games under .500 and were nothing special. They do have a special player in Devin Harris – Harris can be the guard of the Nets team for years to come. The Nets GM must put the right players around for Harris to shine even further and make the Nets a playoffs team once again. Harris averaged a career high in pints last season at 21 pints per game and was one of the best point guards in the Eastern Conference. Harris should have another great individual season – not sure how the rest of the team will do.
With the richest man in Russia owning the Nets, money shouldn’t be an obstacle anymore. The Nets will be one of the more interesting teams to watch in the coming months and years – more so off the court then on.
