Nets Owner Mikhail Prokhorov "may seek to go below the luxury-tax threshold this summer because he’s in danger of being penalized even more harshly with what’s known as 'a repeater tax’' in the new CBA," according to Marc Berman of the N.Y. POST. Prokhorov finished a second straight season with the "largest payroll that was beyond the luxury-tax threshold." The team's payroll plus luxury tax payments are "expected to soar over" $105M, which is "at least better than" '13-14, when they paid an NBA-record $190M (N.Y. POST, 5/27). Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Stein & Mazzeo posed the question of whether Prokhorov "really wants to keep" the Nets. He keeps saying he is "only willing to sell off a minority stake in the team," However, around the NBA, "skepticism persists." Prokhorov "invites such doubts with his ever-so-rare presence around the team." There are also "persistent rumbles in league circles that the real reason the Nets aren't being actively shopped to potential bidders is the structure of the deal Prokhorov struck to buy the team mandates he sell Barclays Center in conjunction with his basketball team" (ESPN.com, 5/26).
