Nets owner Mikahil Prokhorov may draw Mark Cuban comparisons aplenty, but the two owners are apparently on very divergent paths. Though Cuban’s business ventures and widespread interests provide content fodder for his ever popular blog, the Mavericks seem to always come first. He not only invests oodles of money in the franchise, but also his time and efforts, as Cuban has gone to great lengths to stay very involved in every significant decision that the Mavs make.
Prokhorov, too, has been quite involved in the goings on in New Jersey, but it appears that he could soon have a rather substantial commitment splitting his attention. From Colin Stephenson of The Star-Ledger:
.“I got a sense from him that he’s still just as committed to Nets basketball,’’ [Avery] Johnson said in a 30-minute sit-down. “At the same time, I think there was a window of opportunity for him to do what he’s doing now and get into the political realm and things he shared with me that he’s really (passionate) about, how he wants certain things changed about how things are done politically there.’’
Prokhorov is the leader of a political party — the Right Cause party — that is participating in the Dec. 4 parliamentary elections in Russia. If the party gets 7 percent of the general vote (in Russian elections, voters vote for the party, rather than individuals) then Prokhorov’s party would get some seats in the Russian Parliament.
“I don’t want to set off a fire alarm or anything, but I’m almost sure there will be a shifting the deeper he gets in this deal,’’ Johnson said. “But I think the way we’re set up as an organization, and all of the different moving parts that we have, and everybody understanding their role, I think we’ll be fine.’’
Make no mistake about it: this looks to be a pretty significant move for the Nets organization, no matter how Johnson tries to downplay things. When the man holding the purse strings of the organization doubles as an active management voice, it creates a unique dynamic. In such a scenario, the owner isn’t merely an enabler or a final threshold through which all deals must pass, but an active participant in the internal discussions that bring any possibility to final judgment. Neither managerial format is absolutely superior or inferior to the other, but the distinction between the two is certain. Should Prokhorov indeed shift his focus to the political sphere, the responsibilities of those working within the Nets organization will be shifted accordingly, and for the organization’s sake one can only hope that power is put in the right hands.
Lets maybe keep some of that authority away from whoever it was that was stumping for Travis Outlaw as Free Agent Savior, eh?
