In 2010, exactly a decade after Cuban entered the league, the New Jersey Nets were sold to Russian billionaire, Mikhail Prokhorov. Prokhorov had just celebrated his 45th birthday a week before the sale became official. He became a billionaire at a much younger age than Cuban. He went to school to work in the finance world and within a few years of graduation he was head of the Board of the MFK bank. After the collapse of the USSR, Prokhorov took advantage of the unregulated industries that were owned by the USSR. The industry he went after was the precious metal industry. He was the chairman of Polyus Gold, Russia's largest gold producer and most recently he chaired Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest producer of nickel and palladium. He then created a private investment fund, ONEXIM Group, in 2007. His purchase of the Nets came three years later along with half the project of building an arena in Brooklyn, known today as the Barclays Center. He resigned his position at ONEXIM in 2011 to focus on politics.
Like Cuban, Prokhorov did an unheard of thing in buying an American sports franchise with no other investors involved. Prokhorov's purchase of the Nets came at a time where nearly every of team sold was sold to a small group of wealthy men, not just one person. Prokhorov has also been outspoken since buying the Nets. Upon approval of him becoming the new majority owner of the team, he declared that the Nets would be NBA champions within five years. He even got into a war of words with Cuban over which team would sign star point guard, Deron Williams, in the offseason. He restated his five year plan today at the grand opening of the Barclays Center, saying that everything was going to plan. He also profoundly stated that he thought Nets General Manager, Billy King would be G.M. of the Year and that the Barclays Center was the best arena in the world. The latter, of course, was most likely another shot at the New York Knicks as Madison Square Garden is largely regarded as the best arena in the world. His first shot at his team's new crosstown rival was referring to Knicks owner, James Dolan, as 'that little man.'
The one difference between Cuban and Prokhorov is the way they carry themselves at owners. Cuban seems to take a more blue-collar approaching being among the fans, cheering and screaming, while in a t-shirt and jeans. Prokhorov takes the more white-collar approach attending games in expensive suits and never leaving his luxury box. Don't make this minor detail into something big because it is not. When Cuban called Prokhorov the derogatory version of the word 'cat,' Prokhorov simply shrugged it off by saying, "I think he is confused. I don't like cats." Prokhorov may act more like a billionaire than Cuban, but he is just as outspoken and fearless as Cuban. He even challenged Cuban to a kickboxing match, saying he would 'crush' Cuban during his and Cubans war of words over who would sign Williams. Prokhorov also understands how hard it is to run a NBA franchise. He said today while at the Barclays Center that 'it is easy to build a strong team, but very difficult to make a championship team.' I don't know if the Nets will be NBA champions in three years, but I do know that Mark Cuban will have competition as the most outspoken owner for many years to come. Another loud billionaire has burst onto the scene, and his name is Mikhail Prokhorov.
References
http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/8406682/barclays-center-opening-new-jersey-nets-owner-mikhail-prokhorov-promises-title-soon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Prokhorov
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Cuban
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/18446448/prokhorov-says-he-will-crush-cuban-at-kickboxing-if-mavs-sign-williams
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