Bruce Ratner went on CNBC's Squawk Box Monday to talk about his team's plans to renovate Nassau Coliseum, but wound getting praise for Barclays Center and defending the Nets off-season moves.
Andrew Ross Sorkin, the show's host, called Barclays Center "one of the most beautiful, if not. I think, it may be the most beautiful arena i have been in ever." From there, it was down hill. Ratner told the CNBC crew he was optimistic about Forest City/Barclays Center's chances vs. MSG. He said he expects to bring the same quality to the renovated coliseum.
And when one of the hosts suggested that the Nets may have been up too much for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, "guys as old as me," Ratner, still a minority partner, had a spiel ready.
"We didn't give up very much. A couple first round picks. That's okay. We're likely to be in a winning position. So I'm not sure those picks are worth so much,though," said Ratner whose group still owns 20 percent of the team. "The first thing is we had a very good team this year. We won 49 games. we went into the 7th game. Now you add three players, what you do have? the answer is you are right, they are older.
"The difference between you and them, they're a really good basketball players. they really are."
Meanwhile, as part of the Nassau push --MSG or Ratner will learn this month who won-- Fred Mangione, Brett Yormark's No. 2, was on CBS talking about how much has been accomplished at Barclays in less than a year.
- Faceoff for Nassau Coliseum facelift (Video) - Andrew Ross Sorkin, Becky Quick, et al - CNBC
- Eye On New York: Barclays Center Tops For Ticket Sales (Video) - Dana Tyler - WCBS