Avery Johnson enjoys playing with his boss, thinks the guy has skills. At the end of Tuesday’s charity game in Moscow, the Nets coach said of his 6'9" teammate: “Mikhail played really well today! It’s my first time I’m playing with him but it looks like we have been playing for a while. I really enjoy playing with him.” Mrs. Johnson raised no fool.
Johnson, Prokhorov and Sergei Kuschenko, the newest member of the Nets board of directors, played for the “White Team” while Russia’s top woman player, Svetlana Abrosimova, Popeye Jones and Arkadiy Dvorkovich, economic advisor to President Dmitry Medvedev (and a “Cameron Crazy” while at Duke) played for the “Red Team.” (Sigh, aren’t we all “Reds” now?) Coaching the two teams were Sergei Belov, Naismith Hall of Famer, and Deputy Prime Minister (and former KGB General!) Sergei Ivanov. The game ended in a 65-65 tie. Boxscore and video are still being edited.
Prokhorov is a natural athlete as well as a mega-billionaire playboy, and enjoys everything from playing basketball to doing flips on a jet ski. If the lockout must continue on, NBA owners, please give us at least one appearance at the Drew or Goodman league from the Nets owner. It’s the least you can do at this point.