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Prokhorov Becoming Owners' Hero

Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated was the first writer to profile Mikhail Prokhorov as a potential NBA owner, first writer to disclose his interest in the Nets.  Now, he thinks the Nets' owner is assuming a new mantle, as a hero to  pro sports team owners ..."the NBA's new-millennium version of George Steinbrenner. The new Boss".

"I would imagine the eyes of many NBA owners lit up when they heard of Prokhorov's gambit," he writes of the  decision to stop pursuing Carmelo Anthony. "Here are these rival owners, all highly successful in their fields, all worth hundreds of millions of dollars or more, and yet they've felt bullied by the likes of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade deciding where and when they'll be playing with the owners' money."

Thomsen is not alone in that or thinking Prokhorov's "gambit" is very likely to galvanize owners' resistance to player demands in the new CBA.  As Tim Dahlberg of AP adds, "In a sport where the stars yield way too much power, he struck a rare blow for the guys who pay their salaries. Keep this up, and there may be a day when the joke is no longer on the Nets".  Or as Mark Cuban told Stefan Bondy in an email, "Smart. Very smart. Smart as in making clear who is in charge and who is running the show".