With Nets Owner Mikhail Prokhorov now looking to sell a controlling stake in the team, Alibaba Exec Vice Chair Joe Tsai, who last week bought a San Diego NLL team, has "expressed an interest" in taking over the reins in Brooklyn, according to a source cited by Josh Kosman of the N.Y. POST. Sources added that "Wall Street types" also have been doing "due diligence on the team." Sources said that the Nets "believe they can attract a selling price" of at least $2B. Sources said that Prokhorov has been "unable to sell a minority stake in the money-losing franchise," and now is "hoping to sell the Nets in a two-part process." Sources added that he will continue to "look to sell a minority piece of the team -- but give the buyer the right to buy the entire team in a short period of time -- say three years." A source said, "The path to control is what is sparking this (revamped) auction." Sources said that Prokhorov is "not selling the separately owned Barclays Center." A source said that the Nets "recently reworked their lease with Barclays in a way that will leave the Nets paying less rent." A source added that suitors are "waiting for the details of the new lease agreement to be hammered out before submitting formal offers." Kosman notes key to determining a franchise value is how much "revenue the team will receive from suite rentals and sponsorships." A source said that potential buyers are also "waiting on details on the path to control." (N.Y. POST, 9/8).
MEMPHIS REINS: THE RINGER's Haley O'Shaughnessy wondered could the Grizzlies be the "next NBA team to sell?" Grizzlies co-Exec Chair Steve Kaplan and Vice Chair Daniel Straus next month are "eligible to purchase control" from Chair & Controlling Owner Robert Pera "thanks to a 'buy/sell' clause that the stakeholders agreed to when they purchased the franchise" in October '12. Making matters more interesting, there is "long-reported turmoil between Pera and the minority owners over their respective shares." Kaplan "wants to own a franchise" of his own. He has "tried multiple times to move on from the Grizzlies" -- first losing out on the Hawks to Tony Ressler's ownership group in '15, then "moving on to discussions" with the T'Wolves. Pera can "either sell to Kaplan and Straus or buy their shares at the price set by their given evaluation." Anticipated inflation caused by the Rockets sale "complicates whatever price the minority owners would've set before, and their estimation is crucial" (THERINGER.com, 9/7).
