Prokhorov Won't Get Played Like a Cheap Date

Mikhail Prokhorov is finding out that it is much harder to compete in the free market than it is in Russia. Last evening, Prokhorov had to announce that the Nets were backing out of the Carmelo sweepstakes.  He sounded quite different than the man who announced to Mike Francesa last May that the franchise would utilize "the element of surprise" to build a championship contender in five years.  I guess he's coming to the realization that it is not easy to attract top talent to Newark or Brooklyn to play in the shadow of the New York Knicks.  Afterall, J Kidd led the Nets to back-to-back NBA Finals and they still were not bigger than the Knicks in New York. It doesn't matter how much money Prokhorov has in his personal bank account or how close Jay-Z is with these basketball stars. They are not foolish enough to tie their careers to the rebuilding project that is the Nets.

Prokhorov did not want Carmelo dangling the Nets around while he waited for a more attractive dancing partner to come around. He realized that it would tarnish whatever remaining positive brand image that the Nets have left.  Instead of asking, "where is the Mad Dog?" maybe Prokhorov needs to ask what he got himself into by buying the Nets.