Russian billionaire and new Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has set some lofty goals for his new team, per the New York Post:
“If everything goes as planned, I expect us to be in the playoffs next season and championship in one year minimum and maximum in five years,”
“We will have the desire to win that will be unmatched anywhere in the league. This will be the first-class organization with all the support it needs in terms of resources and stability in the front office and state-of-the-art arena to play in,” Prokhorov said. “This will be the first truly global team in the NBA with exceptional international exposure no other team can [match].
“There will be fans of the Nets from New Jersey to Brooklyn to Moscow, and I feel pretty sure I can convince the very best of the best that the Nets are the place they want to be.”
I love phrases like “and championship in one year minimum and maximum in five years.” Prokhorov is certainly optimistic, but there’s another uber-rich owner who has thrown money at his team year in and year out and has nothing to show for it: Mark Cuban.
In the last 11 years, only five teams have won at least one title, so it’s not as easy as it seems to build a winner. The Nets need to somehow land a superstar or two, via the draft and/or free agency, and need to have a lot more luck along the way.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
