Sources: Mikhail Prokhorov listening to offers for Nets
In the wake of the Los Angeles Clippers selling for a league-record $2 billion, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov has been open to overtures from potential buyers for the Brooklyn Nets, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
"Just listening so far," a league official with direct knowledge told Yahoo Sports. "They haven't indicated a desire or willingness to sell. …Nothing was initiated by [Prokhorov]."
Part of Prokhorov's willingness to listen has come out of his company's curiosity of how much his ownership share of the Nets and the Barclays Center could fetch on the market, league sources said.
After the Sterling Family Trust sold the Clippers for $2 billion to Steve Ballmer, Prokhorov and his associates believe the combination of the Nets and Barclays Center major market location could net in the neighborhood of the Clippers sale, sources said. Less than five years ago, Prokhorov bought the Nets and a percentage of Barclays Center for $223 million.
Prokhorov owns 80 percent of the Nets and 45 percent of the Barclays. Beginning in the 2015-16 season, the NHL's New York Islanders also will move into the arena.
Prokhorov made an aggressive splash into the NBA, purchasing his share of the Nets and Barclays in May 2010. Prokhorov has run the Nets' payroll to record levels, including a combined $190 million in salary and luxury tax for the 2013-14 season.
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