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The Nets hoped the NBA would approve Mikhail Prokhorov in April or May and it appears he will be. Team officials expect the Board of Governors to sign off on the Russian billionaire soon, no later than early May. The league has said it's willing to approve Prokhorov via conference call or email, rather than wait for a board meeting.
This follows news that all property owners within the arena footprint have agreed to leave in the next few weeks. The approval had been held up by the state and Bruce Ratner's inability to get holdouts to "vacate" their properties. That was resolved over the past three days with agreements by the owner of Freddy's, a group of renters and Daniel Goldstein to leave the footprint by May 7. (Two businesses have been given til June 30 to depart, but they are outside the arena footprint but on the larger Atlantic Yards property.)
With the ownership transfer likely to be resolved soon, the next question is whether Prokhorov will sit on the dias in Secaucus May 18 for the Draft Lottery. The team--and presumably their high profile owner--is likely to want that. Meanwhile, the Nets have begun updating the "New Leadership" and "Draft Lottery" pages on the NetsAllNew site...including discussion boards.
- Come May, will Mikhail Prokhorov be playing the lotto? - Dave D'Alessandro - Nets Blast
- Stern: 'Fair chance' Prokhorov at lottery for Nets - Brian Mahoney - AP
- Expect Prokhorov to take Nets reins in May - Fred Kerber - New York Post
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Stern expects basketball revival in New York - Teri Thompson - New York Daily News
- Nets All New - Its All New - Leadership - New Jersey Nets
- Nets All New - Its All New - Draft Lottery - New Jersey Nets
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Five No. 4's - Ben Couch - New Jersey Nets