Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov admits past mistakes in an open letter he pens for Yahoo Sports, but he said he’s learned that building the right culture is more important than simply collecting talent and said that he wants players who don’t need convincing about the merits of playing in Brooklyn.
“There can be differences of vision and opinion, and everyone should be heard, but, once we have a strategy, we all need to work together to fulfill it and put our individual issues behind us,” Prokhorov wrote. “It also means we need to have the courage to say, ‘We’ll not go for that player because, as much as he’s talented, he doesn’t fit into the culture we are building.’ It takes guts to say ‘no’ as much as it does to say ‘yes.'”
The emphasis on the right atmosphere jibes with the team’s reported offer of its GM post to Sean Marks, who hails from the culture-conscious Spurs, though the latest reports have thrown cold water on the idea of Marks coming to Brooklyn. See more on the Nets:
- Joe Johnson is “not expected” to be on the buyout market, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. He’s reportedly yet to approach the team about a buyout after expressing openness to the idea earlier this month.
- The Nets are taking a “passive” approach to the trade deadline, Prokhorov told reporters, including Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link).
- Thaddeus Young appears to be the Net most likely to end up in a trade, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes within his power rankings.