some time ago announced that Prokhov had sold most of his shares to , one of the founders of Alibaba , , Cai Chongxin , two years ago, the Chinese billionaire received 49% of the Nets' team shares for $1 billion. It is reported that he will get the remaining shares of the team for $1.35 billion, so the team's sale price reaches $2.35 billion, which also sets the highest record for the league's team acquisition. Previous records were Ballmer's acquisition of the Clippers ($2 billion) and Fertitta's purchase of the Rockets ($2.2 billion). If Tsai Chongxin paid for the team's home court Barclays Center, the total value of this transaction is $3.5 billion, which is already very good for Prokhov.
Nets officially announced that the league will sign this trade request at the end of September. The era when the Nets belong to Prokhov is over, and a lot of things have happened during his time in control of the team. Prokhov suddenly entered NBA as a mysterious rich man. He is very mysterious to ordinary people. Everyone knows that his net worth reached 17.8 billion US dollars at that time. Someone specifically learned how he made a fortune. Prokhov started by selling jeans, and later opened a bank during the Russian market economy. Later, he used the method of "loans for equity" to become Russia's largest platinum and nickel manufacturer, and finally became a well-known billionaire in Russia. Prokhov said in an interview: "When I was a child, all kinds of wealth always came to me."
Prokhov left a deep impression on many people from the moment he entered the NBA. A few days after the league approved him to buy the Nets' equity, Prokhov accepted an interview with reporter David Aldridge . His meaningful smile in front of the camera was impressive. Aldridge asked him a very sharp Sharp question: "For a rich man who is very good at developing Russia's nickel ore and has seen strong storms in finance, how can he attract the best players in the league to the team, such as LeBron James, the best player in the free agent market this year." Prokhov said: "I am very confident to convince the best players in the league to join the team." Then he smiled, and this treacherous smile fully demonstrated his confidence, as if he knew what level he could do. He also emphasized that the team's advantage is that more players have the opportunity to create unlimited possibilities. He firmly believes that the Nets can become the first global team in the league with the help of his international influence. Prokhov feels that although he has no achievements in the league, this will not affect the development of the Nets.
When he first bought the team, people were very interested in whether he participated in some corrupt transactions when he became famous in Russia. What kind of role Prokhov is in the Russian political system is also one of the hot topics discussed. Later, news of his campaign for president came out, but the authenticity remains to be seen. Later, in an interview, Prokhov personally told him that he had participated in some corrupt transactions that year. Because of his relationship with Putin and the Kremlin , the American public at that time were very fascinated by Prokhov.
In 2007, Prokhov was arrested by French authorities while skiing in the Alps. He was suspected of having some illegal sex transactions. He was detained for a few days and was acquitted. Later, the relevant French authorities also came forward to apologize specifically and awarded him the French National Honorary Legion in order to exchange for his reputation for losing his reputation. The arrest also led to his later having to sell Norilsk Nickel (a Russian mining giant) stock, but he also received $7 billion, which made him become Russia's richest rich man. Prokhov's story is constantly being excavated, and there are many things that make people feel incredible, such as driving a luxury car on a private yacht in the Maldives and driving a helicopter to ski. Such operations are not something that ordinary people can understand.In an interview, Prokhov said that he had a yacht worth $50 million, but he forgot where to put it. He said that he likes to study Tibetan martial arts and he thinks the style of the python is very consistent with his image because he is very calm inside. People regard him more as the villain in the 007 series of movies, and it may be that the public thinks he himself is most in line with the temperament of the villain.
In fact, Prokhov had other purposes in the NBA that year. He suddenly took action to save the former Nets boss Bruce Turner. At that time, due to the impact of the economic crisis, Turner urgently needed cash to maintain his project as a real estate developer Atlantic Yards. This project is used to develop land that he has acquired from local residents. With Prokhov's joining, the Nets' home court Barclays Center was successfully completed, and the establishment of Barclays Center also helped the local community change the environment of the community around the stadium. However, Prokhov's promise to the locals has not been completely implemented. Whether on and off the court, he left some messes waiting for someone to clean up.
As soon as he came to the league, Prokhov formulated his first strategic opponent as the Knicks team. Before the free agent market opened in 2010, the Knicks erected various advertisements to recruit James on the billboard. Prokhov directly bought a large advertising space near Madison Flower Square. He named his advertisement "Great Blueprint". This advertisement mainly depicts Prokhov and Jay-Z (James's good friend). As a result, James did not choose the Knicks or the Nets, but these two teams formed a feud. Later, Prokhov said bluntly: He would transform the Knicks fans into Nets fans within five years, and then the Nets won the championship. If the goal is not achieved, he will accept the punishment for marriage. Prokhov has countless women around him, and getting married is a big challenge for him. The reality is that the goals he set at the beginning have not been achieved. The Nets did not become the champion team, and he was not married. However, his series of actions have given the Nets a higher level of attention. The Nets were almost forgotten by the world before, and the sudden attention has given this team a chance to be reborn.
Although Prokhov is willing to invest in the Nets, the team has not become one of the top teams in the league. Prokhov's smile is always full of confidence. He wants to get James, Dwayne Wade , Chris Bosh , Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, but his attempts and efforts have not succeeded. Later, he publicly stated in an interview that all these transactions failed. Deron Williams is one of the best players the Nets have obtained, but Williams has not brought great success to the team. Before Williams joined the Nets, the Mavericks wanted to get him, but Prokhov said that if the Mavericks got Williams, he would greet Cuban with his deadly scissors feet, and Williams finally joined the Nets. With Williams' joining and Prokhof's support from all aspects, the team's general manager Billy King wanted to form a strong team around Williams and Brooke Lopez. After the Nets moved to the Barclays Center in the new arena, Gerald Wallace and Joe Johnson also joined the team. That season the Nets also won 49 games in a single season, which was the season they won the most regular season in those years. Unfortunately, the team was eliminated by the Bulls in the first round of the series in playoffs, and was eliminated by a team plagued by injuries in the tiebreak battle. The team's record breakthrough did not allow more New York fans to switch to the Nets.
The team management of course was not willing to accept such an ending. On the day of the 2013 draft, Billy King and the Celtics made a sensational league deal. The Nets gave out three future first-round picks and one first-round swap, in exchange for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry.However, this deal did not bring much change to the Nets. Instead, the final winner was the Celtics, which also laid the foundation for the Celtics' later reconstruction and return to the playoffs. The best result of the Nets after making this deal was to defeat the Raptors in the first round of the playoffs in 2014. After all, the team's main players are no longer as brave as they were back then. Soon the management made a further decision. They fired head coach Jason 3 Kidd and traded veterans such as Pierce . Prokhov even said a harsh word when he fired Kidd: It's better to go quickly, otherwise I will hit your butt when I smash the door.
After some trouble, the Nets returned to the starting point. The team has no player to rely on. They have long lost their original competitiveness in the East. The draft picks they have already been traded. It is difficult for this team to see hope for reconstruction for a while. After several failures and a considerable luxury tax, Prokhov felt very desperate, and later he stopped giving such a large amount of financial support to the Nets. In the following years, Prokhov had no big news, at most some news about his mine explosion. The Nets had not had much operation due to the salary cap restrictions for several years. Over time, the team boss also intends to sell the team's equity. Rumors that Prokhov wanted to sell the team have been circulating in the league, and then Cai Chongxin obtained 49% of the Nets' shares for $1 billion.
During the period when he was in charge of the Nets, Prokhov's series of actions did not bring a championship to this team, and this team even set a record of fourth-worst win rate in the league in a single season. The Nets have entered the playoffs only three times in these nine years and have won only one series. That deal for the team that year has become one of the worst in league history. In 2012, in order to get Gerald Wallace, the Nets sent a first-round pick with the top three picks to the Portland Trail Blazers . Later, the Trail Blazers used it to select Damian Lillard , which was also one of the worst deals in the league. However, Prokhov still brought some good changes to the Nets. For example, his generous moves have made the Nets no longer a joke for New York fans. The future of this team is still full of infinite possibilities. This year, Kevin Durant's joining the Nets has a lot to do with Prokhov. The Nets have achieved certain results last season. With the efforts of general manager Max and head coach Atkinson, the team has entered the playoffs again since 2015. No matter what the reason, Prokhov finally gave up on the team. Although he did not stick to the team like Ballmer, the Nets' current achievements are inseparable from Prokhov's efforts.
This team is slowly getting on the right track, and more and more fans are starting to support the Nets. After obtaining two superstars, the Nets have become one of the top teams in the league that Prokhov expected back then. I believe that after seeing the team he once had started to improve, Prokhov will be happy for the fate of this team. In addition to the meaningful smile, there are many things that cannot be expressed in words.
Original text: Dan Devine
Compilation: Sunny
