76ers CEO thinks Mikhail Prokhorov can get $1.5 billion for Nets

Scott O'Neil, the CEO of the Philadelphia 76ers, thinks Mikhail Prokhorov could sell the Nets for $1.5 billion, a bit less than what Adrian Wojnarowski projected earlier in the week. Both numbers are higher than what was estimated only a few months ago.

"I think they go for $1.4, $1.5 billion," O'Neill told Bloomberg Television Markets.. "[the exact amount] depends on what's included, what the lease looks like, how much of the arena you get. There is a whole bunch of different factors. But I would say, given the current set up, the current structure now, $1.5-ish [billion]."

Prokhorov owns 80 percent of the Nets and 45 percent of Barclays Center through his ONEXIM Sports and Entertainment. The remainder is owned by Bruce Ratner's Nets Sports and Entertainment, whose investors number in the dozens.

O'Neil said that $1.5 billion is "a pretty healthy price," suggesting that the Clippers' price tag --$2 billion-- was more of an outlier, and then joked that he hopes the Nets sells for $3 billion.  Joshua Harris, a Nets season ticket holder in New Jersey, bought the Sixers in 2011 for $280 million.

Experts who've spoke to NetsDaily believe the Nets are worth at least $1.2 billion, but suggest investors may wait until they see what the Atlanta Hawks bring. The Hawks valuation is expected to be between $800 million and $1 billion. The higher the Hawks valuation, the more likely that the Nets ownership get numbers close to --or more than-- the $1.5 billion.

• 76ers CEO says the Brooklyn Nets will sell for $1.5 billion - Cork Gaines - Yahoo! Finance