Brooklyn Nets

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Brooklynettes: Audition Prep Series Weekend 1

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Jeremy Lin in Conversation with Ronny Chieng

BROOKLYN – April 12, 2018 – Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has completed the sale of a 49% interest in the Brooklyn Nets to Joe Tsai. Mr. Tsai is executive vice chairman and co-founder of Alibaba Group, a global internet company with businesses in e-commerce, cloud computing and digital entertainment.

Mr. Prokhorov, through Onexim Sports and Entertainment Holding USA, Inc., will continue to be the controlling owner and the NBA Governor of the team. There will be no changes in the day-to-day management of the team’s business or basketball operations.

Mr. Prokhorov commented, “As we looked for a partner for the team, the number one priority was to find someone who shares our global vision and passion for the future development of the Brooklyn Nets. Those who have followed our story know that, having learned some hard lessons, we are focused on building our culture, and this must be reflected in all that we do – in our players, our staff and our front office. It was important to us that we choose a partner who shares our commitment to the highest standards as we create a truly wonderful NBA franchise. I welcome Joe to the organization and I am looking forward to working with him for years to come.”

“As a lifelong sports fan, I am very proud to join the Nets ownership and the NBA family,” said Mr. Tsai. “I lived in New York in the early days of my career and the City holds a special place in my heart. I share the vision and culture that Mikhail Prokhorov, CEO Brett Yormark, General Manager Sean Marks and Head Coach Kenny Atkinson have put in place, and I look forward to being part of this great franchise.”

“Basketball is a global sport and the NBA is one of the most recognized brands in the world. I am excited about the NBA’s international growth prospects, and hope to play a part in bringing the NBA and the special character of the Brooklyn Nets to fans around the world,” Tsai continued.

A Canadian citizen, Mr. Tsai attended the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey where he played lacrosse and football. He also played lacrosse at the Division I level as an undergraduate at Yale College. After earning his juris doctor degree from Yale Law School, Mr. Tsai worked in New York for many years, and met his wife, Clara, while living there. Mr. Tsai co-founded China-based Alibaba Group in 1999, and currently oversees the company’s strategic acquisitions and investments as executive vice chairman. He is a member of the company’s board of directors and sits on the partnership committee of the Alibaba Partnership, which is comprised of a group of senior executives responsible for the day-to-day management of Alibaba Group. Alibaba Group is not party to the transaction.

The transaction provides Mr. Tsai an option to acquire further shares in 2021 and, if exercised, become the controlling owner of the team. The announced share sale does not include Barclays Center, which will continue to be wholly owned by Onexim Sports and Entertainment. The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the transaction.

Since moving to Brooklyn in 2012, the Nets have achieved success and growth both on and off the court. The team reached the NBA Playoffs for three consecutive years in 2013, 2014, and 2015. In 2016, the franchise launched a G League team, the Long Island Nets, to support the development of young talent, and that same year, opened HSS Training Center, the team’s state-of-the-art practice site. The Nets brand has mirrored this growth by transforming from a traditional sports team to a popular lifestyle brand, revolutionizing its public appeal.

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Mikhail Prokhorov Completes Sale of Minority Stake in Brooklyn Nets to Joe Tsai

On Allen Crabbe’s performance on his birthday:
“I shook his hand after the game and it was still hot, still cooking. I thought his overall game was good, obviously started out hot and kept it going. He had five rebounds too. He rebounded, got a steal, a block, really competed. He’s really finishing the season the way we’re asking the team to finish, on a strong note. These games are important to us so the fact that he kept working on his game, kept improving, it’s really good for us.”

On what it took down the stretch to pull this game out:
“Get stops. I thought the way they can score was in transition. Down in the half-court we were pretty good defensively but in transition we had some trouble, so really sprinting back on the shot and getting matched up. I thought the fans have been great all year and really want to thank them for their support. We’ve had some tough games, some good games, some not so good games, but they’ve been there. I think this is the unique thing about being in New York, no insult to other markets and all that, but we have true basketball fans here. You see it, you feel it. When you talk to them after the games or when you’re walking around Brooklyn, they really know the game and they appreciate the effort our guys put in and we appreciate their patience, their understanding and their enthusiasm. I just think it’s awesome. I’m really hopeful down the line we can really reward them with something special, give them a gift.”

On D’Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie sharing the court again:
“Good, I thought Spencer got back to old Spencer. He was aggressive, he was driving it, he was getting to the rim and that’s who he’s been 90 percent of the year. He had a little blip where he wasn’t as aggressive and quite honestly, thinking about it, I think some of that could have been fatigue. We played him a lot of minutes, we’ve relied on him for a long time but I thought it was great tonight. They alternated on the ball, off the ball and that’s the way this offense was meant to be. I thought Spencer was really, really good tonight.”

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On continuing his hot shooting streak:
“The ball’s going in the hoop for me. Like I’ve said from the jump, I’ve been capable of doing this all season. Just in the beginning I was missing shots, getting the same shots I was shooting earlier in the season but I just wasn’t making them. So I mean it’s starting to come around for me. I’m starting to find my rhythm, and you know just getting more comfortable within the flow of the offense. Tonight was just a night where, I’m glad I had a night on my birthday, and we got the win. It just puts the cherry on top.”

On what was working well within the rest of the backcourt:
“They trapped the pick-and-roll, and then we played great team basketball. The roll man finds us, or D’Angelo [Russell] found us, Spencer [Dinwiddie] found us, Rondae [Hollis-Jefferson] found me. I got everybody a couple assists tonight, so I think just our ball movement, when the ball’s moving like that and everybody’s for it, it’s contagious. Everybody’s having a good time, so I think that was the key for us tonight, and it was a good night.”

On the team having a 7-5 record in the last 12 games:
“Maybe we’re turning that corner that we wanted to hit a little earlier in the season, but it’s better late than never. Let’s get this last one in Boston and just go into the offseason with some momentum. We have to feel good about ourselves and you know just end the season off the right way.”

On Allen Crabbe’s performance:
“Big time. Could easily come out, B.S. the game. For him, the player that he is to come out and put a performance like that on against anybody is big time.”

On the team’s progression:
“Like I said, any win in this league is confidence, a confidence builder. But yea, there’s one or two left, you want treat that approach any type of way, no other way than trying to get a win so especially a plus.”

On being 7-5 in the last 12 games:
“Honestly, it’s irrelevant but it’s something you can definitely look back on and say we played like this or we played like that, build on it. But seven out of five the last however many, that’s irrelevant.”

On his 12 assists:
“I try to pass the ball to whoever’s open. Coach gives me that freedom. The more I’m here, the more the trust will slowly elevate, but we got shot-makers around here. They make it easier for me so I appreciate my teammates for that.”

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#FutureSmart Challenge & Winner Photo Gallery

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Jason Kidd HOF

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On his message to the team:
“You know, just disappointed. Sixty-eight point second half and 36 in the fourth. We’ve done a great job the last two games locking down in the fourth quarter and tonight we didn’t do it. Obviously the rebounding was a big issue. We couldn’t come up, when we did get a stop, when we made them miss we couldn’t come up with the rebound. Obviously Dwight Howard had a monster game. We never really found a solution to combating their physicality in the second half. I thought they physically overwhelmed us.”

On if the physicality of the Hornets turned the tide of the game:
“Listen, I think this stuff motivates you. It’s frustrating because I thought for the most part we were playing a pretty darn good game and had the game under control and then we couldn’t get the requisite stops and that’s frustrating. Frustrating giving up that many points. It’s frustrating to give up 23 offensive rebounds. You know that’s a ton and 47 free throws, I don’t even know what to say about that. That’s just I don’t know, some kind of record. It is what it is. It’s on us. We’ve got to do a better job of not fouling. It’s what we preach so we’re going to have to look at it.

“Again, disappointed that I thought we had the game fairly under control and let it get out of hand, and I will say the offense probably had a part in that too. I thought we took some bad shots and that gets the offense rolling and it can just be a pocket of bad shots. Three, four bad shots when you have a 14 point lead, it just can put you on your heels and gets them going, so I think that was part of it too.”

On how long the team will dwell on this game and Coach’s message postgame:
“Not too long. Obviously very disappointed in how we finished the game, especially in the second half, we gave up 68 points. (He) basically said tomorrow’s going to be a long film session, and we’ll evaluate and go from there; try to get better.”

On if it’s frustrating dropping a game after winning two in a row:
“It’s extremely frustrating just because we had some momentum and you’re trying to continue it to Toronto, where it’s an especially tough game going on the road against a top team in the East. So it’s one of those games where obviously it would have been great to come away with a win, three in a row, have some momentum going into Toronto. But we know there are some things we can definitely learn from this game, and, like I said, we’ll evaluate the film and kind of go from there.”

On if Charlotte changed their defense in the second half to make it harder for the Nets’ offense:
“No. I just think we didn’t do as good of a job moving the ball, moving ourselves and maybe we weren’t as aggressive attacking the rim. We kind of settled for a lot of pull-up twos and contested threes. We weren’t even in the bonus at the end of the game, so we didn’t really put a lot of pressure on the rim, didn’t draw a lot of fouls. I don’t know if the mindset changed in the second half collectively, but we just didn’t get as many rim touches or open threes.”

On what he takes away from a game like this:
“We let them back in the game, they made the plays down the stretch and they won.”

On what opened the door for Charlotte to get back in the game:
“Outplayed us in the second half, 68 points in the second half. They wanted it more and we got comfortable. That’s what happens when you get comfortable, give up leads and we lose so that’s what we did.”

On Coach Atkinson’s message after the game:
“Got to be better, got to be better down the stretch and keep going to what was working, what got us the 23 point lead and stick with that. And we didn’t do that so that’s happens, we lost so those are the results you get.”