Joe Tsai currently has a deal to buy the remaining 51% of the Nets before the '21-22 season for $1.35BNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Alibaba co-Founder Joe Tsai is in "talks to buy" both Barclays Center and the renovated Nassau Coliseum from Nets Majority Owner Mikhail Prokhorov, according to Kosman & Cyrgalis of the N.Y. POST. Sources said that the negotiations are "expected to pave the way" for Tsai to become the "new owner" of the Nets. Tsai bought a 49% stake in the team from Prokhorov last year for $1B, and that deal gives Tsai rights to "buy the rest of the team" before the '21-22 NBA season for an additional $1.35B. By buying Barclays Center, it "will be easier for Tsai to buy the Nets because the NBA likes its owners to own the arenas where their teams play." A sale to Tsai would "be embraced by the NBA, which is anxious for him to take control of the Nets so he can help the league grow in China." A change in ownership could also "help shore up" the Brooklyn arena, which "opened with a splash in 2012 but which has been struggling to make a profit." A spokesperson for Barclays and the Nets "disputed this story" (N.Y. POST, 3/29).
