Who CARES!!!!!!!! As long as this man buys the team were in great shape with or without Lebron!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nobody cares about lebron, just keep the nets in jersey and buy the team…. keep harris, get rid of alston!!… alston is probably the worst player……

CAn 2010 come any quicker

AWESOME—-KEEP THE TEAM IN NJ!!! Forget About Brooklyn!

Maybe Proky won’t be so bad afterall if he can move the Nets to Newark.

Wow! This guy took Ratner over his knee and showed him who’s daddy!! He can negotiate a lower price if BK falls through? Stern is desperate to get anything done, apparently, and Proky clearly wears the pants in this relationship.

Although I’m surprised by the terms Proky is dictating, I’m not surprised about the recent revelations. Just the fact that we’re hearing all this means there are real concerns about getting financing for the tax-exempt bonds before year’s end. Makes you think that Proky’s involvement at all may have meant he was never truly interested in BK.

sounds good to me!!!! i want ratner completely out of the picture. w/out brooklyn, yormark walks (i hope). my team heads to newark which makes my commute easy. lebron was a pipe dream anyhow. we get a top 2010 lottery pick, and thorn has necessary money to buy high class FAs.
please, please, please!

This is fantastic news, I really hope it’s true. In fact, Proky and NO RATNER!?!? That’s waaaay better than Lebron

Wow music to my ears! Lebron will come and go. Ten years from now I want to be watching OUR NEW JERSEY NETS! I want an owner who has passion for the game and willing to do what it takes to win! This man could be that! STAY in NEW JERSEY where the team belongs. I will pray to the basketball GODS for this to become reality.

I dont believe it. Increasingly, I believe the Nets will not be playing in the metro area next season.

NI,

What are you talking about? Didn’t you read the article? Sounds like sour grapes on your part, sir.

“I dont believe it. Increasingly, I believe the Nets will not be playing in the metro area next season.”

Ohhhh Noooo!
Internet scare tactics? Really?

Meanwhile = Prohkorov hasn’t said squat…only espn analysts have.

When he speaks, or people from his camp speak I will believe it…not Stein.

Not a guarantee that Bruce sells to him if BK doesnt happen

SmartNetsFan,

Admittedly possible, but highly unlikely. The terms Proky has apparently negotiated are a steal, and he gets to stay in the Metro area. A no-brainer here. BTW, Stein is a reporter Net Income has said he respects. Also, Proky can’t say anything right now until BK officially falls through, and being that all of this info is coming out now, it seems that announcement is only a matter of time.

NI is spouting off a bunch of garbage. And then if something like this were to actually happen, you’d automatically change your tone and act like you’ve been predicting this for months.

Here’s the deal. Stein is a national columnist for ESPN and you are a dude that posts news on a Nets blog with a bit of insider info. Who should we believe? No one on the national or local scene is using the scare tactics aside from you, an alleged NEW JERSEY Nets fan.

one minute you’re saying that there’s no chance that the Nets can move to Seattle due to the arena situation and next you’re trying to scare uninformed posters that it could happen. The one thing that I do believe is that you seem to think that Brooklyn may not happen, so here you come with the Kansas City/Seattle nonsense for some odd reason or another. If Brooklyn happens, cool, I’m a Nets fan regardless, but if it doesn’t and Prokho keeps the team in Jersey and puts money into making the franchise successful in a venue where it can be successful,

@ Mr. Dollar Bills,

Amen to what you said, however my sweet revenge will simply be watching my Nets play at The Rock every home game for the foreseeable future. This, in and of itself will be death from a thousand paper cuts for those who were so anti-Jersey/ pro-Brooklyn such as Net Income. Having said that, to each his own, and go crazy with my blessings!

@NetsDaily,

Why did you cut off the remainder of Mr. DB’s comment last comment? He didn’t say anything disparaging. He simply made a promise. This could be a GREAT SITE if you guys weren’t so sensitive. Frankly, NI brings any sort of criticism on himself. He only has himself to blame.

I have sources, very good ones, on the inside. You don’t. Suffice it to say that my sources were more optimistic two weeks ago than they are now. I believe my sources are better than Stein’s on this issue. And one other thing: I am not just a blogger.

Bottom line: it’s you two who don’t know what’s going on and rely solely on your biases and seize on whatever is written. You can insult me if you want, but KNOW this: I am not making this stuff up.

If Bk fails I think Ratner sells to the highest bidder. IF, IF Proky wants the team and it can make money in Newark, he is the most likely buyer. But Ratner will take his best offer from anywhere. Stern could be a factor. If the offers are competitive Stern might ask Ratner to keep the team local. As a fan, I think we need a guy like Proky, who loves the Nets for the game and not for a project. But most of all I hope they don’t move away. Scary.

It’s more complicated than that.

—One owner has enough of a certain class of stock to thwart Ratner’s plans. I wrote about that in the blog.

—The bonding process is a two-step process: the rating agencies set the interest rate. As the Observer reports, the Nets cant get the rate they want. Then, once they get the rate, whatever it is, they have to market the bonds and someone has to buy them, all by December 31.

—There are interested parties outside the New York area.

@ Mr. Big,

Ratner needs to rid of himself of tens of millions (maybe hundreds of millions) in debt, so it’s likely Ratner would sell to Proky, with whom he already has a deal. Ratner has very little (if any) say in what happens at this point. Proky has vowed to take on a large part of Ratner’s debt, so Proky clearly calls the shots. I don’t think another buyer may be possible at this point, especially if/ when Proky is approved and his claims to want the team regardless of location are true. Face it – they’re in Jersey to stay.

@ Net Income,

You…
Oh, never mind! It’s no longer worth it.

@MrT
As usual, you offer a simplistic analysis based on minimal knowledge.

This isn’t about Ratner. Ratner has no debt. Forest City Enterprises, his parent company, has the debt. They own 23% of the team and have taken on up to 40% of the team’s debt annually. The Nets have at least $210 million in debt. That’s public and has been reported on this site and elsewhere. No need to guess. According to Forbes, the Nets are the most indebted team in professional sports, as a percentage of debt to equity.

 With a rising debt and a shrinking value, the Nets are a massive drain on FCE’s bottom line. They have invested hundreds of millions of dollars beyond the Nets in this project. If it fails, they will have to take a massive charge. That would devastate their stock. They will need to dump the Nets on the highest bidder. Perhaps that will be Prokhorov, but if someone else comes along with a better deal, FCE will go with them. The law will require them to.

Stein’s original report last week quoted one “plugged in source” as saying he would do the deal. This report doesn’t even indicate who his sources are…or how many there are. Prokhorov has said this deal depends on Brooklyn. Stern has said this deal depends on Brooklyn. Ratner has said this deal depends on Brooklyn.

And here’s the difference between me and you. I read the Forest City reports. I talk regularly to insiders. I talk to reporters. I work at this. Sometimes, I can’t disclose everything I know but I try to give people, you know fans, a real sense of the possibilties. That sense often changes. You on the other hand speculate. Big difference.

With all of your “inside information”, you know nothing. And we both know it.

Good night.

I love it when MrT and Mr. Dollar Bills take on NetIncome. Make for some nice reality show drama, doesn’t it? You guys should do this more often.
Bottom line for me is: I am a fan, and Brooklyn or NJ, it does not matter. My only thing is that I would never want this team to go anywhere else.

“Net Income Says:

–There are interested parties outside the New York area."

Name who these parties are, and provide some type of credible source that shows their interest in buying the Nets.

With all of your insider info and 5 star contacts on the inside of the organization, surely you can give us some facts to back up your weekly vague threats about the Nets moving to Seattle, blogger.

The key seems to be getting a quick court decision. The word that a decision could come by Tues. seems to be mere speculation, based on past decisions.

If however, a favorable decision came by Tuesday, that might give Prokhorov a chance to outbid the so called “outside” party. If Proky is by far the wealthiest person involved, he should be able to influence the outcome.

Couldn’t Proky just buy enough shares of FCE himself, or buy $500 million in bonds himself, after they are rated?
If Proky is so excited about buying a legitimate USA company, that he would settle for the Newark Nets, as Stein writes, then he should be willing to invest more heavily to make sure Brooklyn goes through.

A quick and decisive court decision still seems to be the key, but what are the odds of that happening?

@NI: Why not post your knowledge of an “outside party of interest” without names, as a formal post, and then some non-ESPN NBA blog(s) would pick that up. I am tired of ESPN getting all the credit, just because they have a legitimate, buy already OLD source.

It’s sort of a what have you done for me lately thing around here, huh?

You could be a nationally televised political reporter one day and a blogger the next. It’s a fickle world we live in.

I used to be an award winning radio comedy show talent and producer in college. Now I’m some married dude on a diet.

The NBA seems to like Prokhorov, because it expands there international image. If Brooklyn falls through I think the NBA would still ask Ratner to sell to Prokhorov.

The Rock is an awesome venue.

RD

The NBA might ask him, but by law he is required to sell to the highest bidder…

@Smart
 Proky is a billionaire. He was already paying over 400 million over what the Nets where worth. I think he’s go the money for it

Prokhorov already has a conditional contract with Ratner.
Brooklyn would have to fail first before another bidder would get into picture.

Nets fans should be rooting for Brooklyn to succeed (namely Appeals decision) or else team could be going byebye, if NI is correct.

Unless I’m missing something, hasn’t he already agreed to sell to Prokhorov, which is why the NBA is going through the vetting process? The vetting process that seems it will get rubber-stamp approval, BTW. What can Ratner do at this point to stop the sale? Would he even want to stop the sale?

@jerry25,

If the above article is true, it doesn’t seem that it will matter whether BK happens or not. If Proky is interested in the Nets regardless of Metro-area location, then as long as the NBA approves him as owner, the deal will be done.

Put it to you this way as long as Prokhorov is in the picture. there’s no one who could out bid him. The current deal in place has to with the AY than it does the Nets. So renegotiation should shift more to the Nets as far their actual worth and debt.
This may result in the sell some from additional ownership shares like Viola or those looking to get out to cut their losses

I thought NI is implying that if contract has to be renegotiated because Brooklyn falls through, then another potential buyer can make a new offer.

Prokhorov might be able to outbid competition if he necessary, if he wanted to.

Yeah, there doesn’t seem to be much in Stein’s Nets blurb to go on. Maybe there’s an additional provision in the contract that states he can renegotiate the deal to buy the team at a lower price – but maybe there isn’t. Having said that, what would be the purpose of the NBA vetting process for Prokhorov if the deal can be renegotiated at any time? Is it a paper exercise at this point? Maybe the NBA is aware that Proky is having second thoughts about BK.

Either way, NI’s assertions of other buyers have not been substantiated by anyone. He may very well be correct, but I won’t lose any sleep until I hear otherwise.

Just hearing that now Proky doesn’t care where the Nets end up shows even more how there is a possibility of the move to Brooklyn failing. Ratner is in a lose-lose position so that no matter what the court rules, he will still not get the bonds either way. I wouldn’t be surprised that Proky would want the Nets in Newark if Brooklyn fails because he would probably feel that the Nets need something more up to date, and the Izod Center just isn’t the place for it.

@MrT
What is this “maybe there’s a provision in the contract”?
More speculation that then becomes a factual basis for yet another, later speculation?

If Brooklyn falls through, the deal as written is done, over, kaput. It is based on Prokhorov getting 45 per cent of the arena and an option to buy up to 20 per cent of the overall Atlantic Yards project. As has been stated over and over and over again, including in Stein’s two articles, there IS a clause that states the deal is dependent on Forest City—through Nets Sports and Entertainment, its arena subsidiary—obtaining the needed financing and approvals, including a favorable ruling from the Court of Appeal.

At that point, there would have to be a renegotiation, a start from scratch. It’s POSSIBLE that someone could have a right of first refusal, but that someone may not be Prokhorov. It may be Viola, who is currently and until the deal is done, the second biggest stockholder in the team after Forest City/Ratner. Or it’s possible there is no such right of first refusal.

Forest City’s immediate concern is getting the debt it has accumulated off the books and fast.

@Tal
You keep repeating this “lose-lose” scenario. You don’t think clearing the major lawsuit affecting the project isn’t going to help him with the bonding…help him remove uncertainty? Is that what you’re saying?

If as the Observer reported, the Court of Appeals ruling comes on TUESDAY, about 10 days earlier than anticipated by some critics, and is favorable, that too is an advantage. It gives Ratner more time to complete the rest of the work needed. He may not get the interest rate he wants, of course, but winning the case is a positive for him in his negotiations with the bond-rating agencies.

If the Court rules in favor of Goldstein, et al, Brooklyn is dead. No eminent domain, no deal. IF the Court rules that eminent domain can be used on only part of the property needed, or asks the ESDC to review those takings, then a redesign would be needed, which I would think would hurl the project back. I doubt that will be the outcome but courts do strange things.

@NI,

I know Ratner’s #1 concern is eliminating debt ASAP, which was exactly my point to another poster. I doubt Ratner would be willing to go through a bidding process with other potential ownership groups at this point. It would take too long. That would also support my position that other ownership groups aren’t likely to get involved (especially at this late stage). Ratner would be wise to “stick to the Devil he knows”, and Proky is already on the process of being vetted, unlike any Seattle or Kansas City ‘players’.

Also, I noticed you didn’t touch my question about the NBA vetting process for Prokhorov. The NBA has to be aware of what Prokhorov is saying regarding Brooklyn. Is his change of heart reason enough for the Board of Governors to deny Proky a chance at the Nets? I highly doubt it, especially when an NBA-ready arena awaits them in Newark, one that is already constructed and doesn’t have the burden of Court decisions or community opposition or financial hurdles to overcome.

Net Income, despite how many times the ESDC won the court rulings, Ratner was still unable to get the needed loans. The main reason is because of his fiscal irregularties. Many of those businesses feel that investing with him is playing with fire, so they take some steps to rethink it. Now that I am hearing that a new owner that he was looking to for helping him get out of debt sort of reminds me when President Ronald Reagan appointed the wishy washy Sandra Day O’Connor to the US Supreme Court in thinking that he will keep it conservative, but she turnned out to be librel instead and supported many liberal ideas. It turns out Proky may not be the man Ratner will want afterall especially if he plans to keep the Nets in NJ if Brooklyn fails. He can always work on owning part of the Prudential Center with Vanderbeek, which would be the most likely outcome of that.

@Mr T
You simply don’t understand…period. You speculate based on a limited, even non existent base of knowledge.

Again, it’s not RATNER. It’s Forest City who is in charge. Again, under securities law, Forest City MUST get the price available for the team or face shareholder lawsuits…or worse. There was a bidding process for the team, with Prokhorov winning the process with a bid considerably higher than the second highest bid.

@Tal
You don’t understand either. He couldnt get the financing because he didnt have the approvals. it’s the big lie of the critics…they created the delays then blame Ratner for the delays. It’s despicable.

NI,

Was your daddy mean to you as a little boy?
Why are you so unnecessarily condescending? It doesn’t upset me – it just illustrates your insecurity, and I ALMOST feel sorry for you.

Rather than insulting my family, why not simply say, “I was wrong”. It can be therapeutic.

Notice, Net Income never addressed the question about these alleged “Kansas City and Seattle” players.

We keep saying that by law, Ratner is required to sell to the highest bidder. Does that have something to do with in house FCR law? Because if not, there have been other examples of NBA owners selling for less than the top bid. Stern and the BOG have the power to block sales even if they are a larger bid. The one that comes to mind is when Howard Schultz sold the Sonics to the OKC people. The highest bid was actually from Larry Ellison of Oracle, who wanted to move the team to San Jose. His bid was for $425 while Bennett only offered $350 million. The league preferred OKC over giving the Warriors bay area competion in San Jose so the lower bid won out.

^^^^

Never mind the beginning of that above post. I just read NI’s post regarding FCE’s shareholders.

Since that is the case, I’m hoping that Viola has some financial clout and is willing to buy the team. If not, Steve Ballmer is a big time player with some big time money in Seattle. He may not exist right now but if Ratner makes some calls, he could make a pitch and then build his own arena in Seattle or renovate the Key Arena with his own money. That eliminates the liberal west coast voters. Plus he would control all events coming into the arena.