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Brett Yormark again suggests Brooklyn Nets could play in Russia next season

Dmitry Beliakov for Brooklyn Nets

In Moscow at the end of last month to discuss "strategic planning," Brett Yormark told a Russian sports site the same thing he told a London sports seminar weeks before: the Nets may very well play next year in Moscow.

"We want to play around the world," he told Peter Pavlov of SovSport.ru. "Last year, before the season we played in China. Before I was in London. We discussed the question - how to bring the Nets in Russia again. Moreover, there is now an arena worthy to invite to an NBA team."

Yormark was apparently referring to VTB Arena, part of a giant sports park being developed in Moscow.  It will be able to seat up to 12,000 fans for basketball. It was designed by David Manica, the same architect who's responsible for the HSS Training Center.

Yormark suggested at the SportsPro conference in London early last month that he has had talks with the NBA's international office about an "exhibition game" in Moscow. One concern the league had with such plans in the past was the lack of an NBA-quality arena.  Now that apparently is not an issue.

In the interview, Yormark reiterated some of the same themes he touched on in London including the popularity of the Nets brand in China, Mikhail Prokhorov's willingness to spend --'he gives us the resources to succeed" and how the Nets are in "transition" but promised "huge possibilities" in 2016 free agency. He also noted that the Nets are fourth in the NBA in sponsor revenue, with 15 to 20 percent of the team's income.

He would not concede that Nets fans should be prepared for losing. "We do not have the concept of 'losing'  season," he added.  The interview was conducted prior to the season's first game.

As for his boss, Yormark said, "Fans have great respect for him, they have the confidence that if he says, 'I want to win,' he will do it."