Prokhorov Willing to Spend...A LOT

Mikhail Prokhorov had a good day Thursday. According to the Forbes Real Time Billionaire Tracker, he made $26.37 million or almost enough to pay for Joe Johnson and Gerald Wallace's salaries next season...in a day! Its that kind of wealth and the willingness to spend it that separates Prokhorov from most NBA owners ... and those who previously controlled the Nets.

As Stefan Bondy writes Friday, the Nets moves already accomplished this week, plus the hoped-for acquisition of Dwight Howard would put his luxury tax bill for the next five years at $107.5 million. That's what excited Nets fans about Prokhorov when he became the richest owner in sports in 2010. This week, that commitment is fully on display, but it didn't just start this week.

As Bondy writes, "None of this would be possible without Prokhorov: not the $1 billion arena nearly complete in Brooklyn, not the trading for Joe Johnson’s supposedly untradeable contract, and not the continued chase for Howard while approaching cap hell." All of this has concerned salary cap weenies and Mark Cuban, but not Avery Johnson. "When he first bought the team, he said he would do whatever it took to build a championship team."

• Dwight Howard deal would cost Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov $107.5M over next four years - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News