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Potential buyers emerge for a majority stake in the Brooklyn Nets

By Kunal Kohli

BERLIN, GERMANY - MAY 15: Mikhail Prokhorov, Russian owner of Brooklin Nets attend during the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball Final Four Berlin 2016 Championship game between Fenerbahce Istanbul v CSKA Moscow in Mercedes Benz Arena on May 15, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Rodolfo Molina/EB via Getty Images)
BERLIN, GERMANY - MAY 15: Mikhail Prokhorov, Russian owner of Brooklin Nets attend during the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball Final Four Berlin 2016 Championship game between Fenerbahce Istanbul v CSKA Moscow in Mercedes Benz Arena on May 15, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Rodolfo Molina/EB via Getty Images) /
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Earlier this summer, Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov announced his plans to sell a minority stake in the team. That soon became a minority stake with a path to majority ownership.

Now, it looks like that may be changing. Instead of minority ownership, some potential buyers are looking to buy a majority stake in the Brooklyn Nets, according to the New York Post. The Post has also reported that there are several people eyeing the team.

Two New York-based “financial titans” are said to be a part of the bidding process. A buyers group from Texas, that lost the bid for the Houston Rockets to Tillman Ferrita, are also looking to make a bid on the Nets.

The members of the group from Texas are unknown. However, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale and Dikembe Mutumbo both expressed interest in purchasing the Rockets.

One of the more prominent names in the discussion is Dave Checketts and his buyers group. Checketts was formerly the president of the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden. He helped build a Knicks team that reached the NBA finals in 1994.  He has worked as an executive in Madison Square Garden up until 2001. Checketts was also part of a Kansas City-based group that wanted to buy the Nets in 2009.

There’s only one problem with Checketts. He has a net worth of less than $50 million. In order to purchase a team, the NBA mandates that owners cannot borrow more than $250 million. So he and his buyers group would have to have at least $1.75 billion to meet Prokhorov’s $2 billion price tag.

Checketts is a friend of Joe Tsai, who was reportedly interested in buying the Nets. But, Alibaba, the company Tsai works for, has said that he has no plans for purchasing the Nets. However, he has expressed interest in purchasing an NBA franchise.

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It should be noted that whoever buys the team, will only get the team. Prokhorov has no plans on selling his stake in the Barclays Center.