The following is an edited transcript of new Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s press conference yesterday at the Four Seasons:
What did you know of America growing up?
We had a Soviet ideology at the time, but my father Dmitri travelled a lot. And he travelled six or 10 times a year. He was one of the key bosses in the Soviet sport committee. He was in charge of international relations of the Soviet sport with other countries. He pushed me to be independent and more western-minded. That’s why my mentality was maybe to a certain extent exceptional. On the one hand we support publicly Soviet ideology. On the other hand, sitting in the kitchen with family and friends, we listened to Voice of America, and read Gulag Archipelago. It was all the time a tradition between us. What was inside was inside; what was in public was public. But a lot of people lived like this during Soviet power. It was natural.
When was your first time (in America) and your impressions?
It was 1993, I was among the Russian delegation together with President Yeltsin, it was the opening of the new Russian embassy in Washington. We suffered from a lack of information during the Soviet power, of course, but for us America was a competitor at the time.
When did you first see the NBA?
It was in the middle ’80s. I was maybe 20 or 21. It was a videotape recording, very popular in the Soviet Union, but we had at the time a special restriction. If you had permission to have it, it’s OK. But for some people who tried to show movies and selling some tickets, they can really go to jail at the time. (The first time) I saw an NBA game I was really shocked, and for me I was really happy, and for me yesterday was a pleasure. I met … Larry Bird, he was one of the players I was watching the first time I saw an NBA game.
What drew you to the Nets?
Maybe 3-5 years ago, when I had experience with Russian and European basketball, we had a dream to have access to the NBA. But at that time it was really impossible. I think I’m lucky, we were talking about globalization for the time being, it’s more easy access to any kind of business in any country. I think the world crisis helped a lot. And we pull it off at last. I like the position. I want to be among the NBA family with the toughest competition ever seen compared with all other countries. For example, in Russia and Europe there are no limits. If you have a lot of money you can buy the best coach and players, not thinking about the rules, the budget, etc. Here it’s the opposite, you have tough rules, you have to follow NBA rules, and here once you made a mistake you can suffer five or six years, depends on the contract. That’s why I like this.
When did you first get into basketball in general?
What is funny, the only game I saw live was New Jersey against Los Angeles, (NBA Finals). When New Jersey lost four games. Once I saw it live. It was in the Izod arena.
I played basketball when I was a schoolboy. And after I continued playing in college. But my problem as an athlete is that I like diversification – in business and in sport. As soon as I’m good at some level, I’m doing my best to change and be good at different disciplines. Even now I go for kickboxing, I play soccer, I go trampoline, heleskiing, jetskiing — nonstop. Of course I use (a) gym. Because you need to add more physical activity when you have more age, because when you jump or backflip or 360, I’m not a boy for the time being, you need to train more to be on the same level.
Why were you at the NBA Finals in ’02?
A friend of mine was very close to (the) previous owner, and he invited me just for the game. I was in their owner’s suite. It was the second game.
How do Russians feel about this?
I think the majority of the people share my passion to build some kind of a bridge, but of course, as with any country there are some people who … It’s normal, we pay attention to others who have openness, and it’s no more.
Who are you? We read this and that – billionaire, playboy, oligarch, but who are you?
I can’t explain better than you are now. All those things you mentioned.
Try again?
I try to keep my work day to 15 hours. If it’s 15, stop. I spend 12, 15 hours in my office, the last two hours … every day, and five or six hours of sleep. Every three weeks maybe I have a party with my friends. Because social life is also important. It is also one of the joys of (success).
How long will it take to rebuild the Nets?
I have the same approach to the management style, it doesn’t matter if it’s a gold producing company or basketball team. First step I am very active, together, I do my best to invite the best people I can find on the market. After (that) I usually take a step back and let the people do their job. And what’s obviously very important in my business style is I give staff the right to make mistakes. It’s very important. Because I make mistakes all the time. But what is more, successful ideas or mistakes. Maybe I’m lucky for the time being — 75 is good, 25 is mistake. I need to share this ratio with other people. You need to be really passionate to make a person a top manager. And forgive stuff. Especially when (the) market is new. I need to smell. It takes time.
What will Jay-Z’s role be in the team?
I met him twice socially and I share his passion for Brooklyn. He is really a Nets fan. For me, really, he’s a great businessman. And really I am very far from rap music, but we have a lot in common because we are both self-made. I am looking forward to hanging out with him.
Will you use him to recruit?
I think it’s more than enough that he is very passionate with the team. I think it’s management job to look for free agents, and with agents, it’s a professional job. But of course Jay-Z’s passion is additional advertisement for the team.
Who was your favorite sports team growing up?
I don’t like the word favorite. It’s the same as the world limited. I have my own way. Maybe the answer is no.
What will happen with Rod Thorn and Kiki Vandeweghe?
Regarding Rod Thorn, I want him really to keep him on. And I think we’re in procedures of discussing small formalities for the agreement for the time being. With Kiki, he’s a very talented guy, he did his job in a very tough season for the team, and his agreement expires in summer and I wish him well.
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ompare the challenge of rebuilding the Nets to other things in life?
I think we don’t need to go back to square one. We have a good backbone. It’s Rod Thorn and some people from the staff. We have some outstanding players like Devin Harris, like Brook Lopez, the best rookie of April, Terrence Williams, the Yi player, Courtney Lee. Last season I think the team was short staffed and had some injuries early in the season. I don’t think they could have done dramatically better in such circumstances. Still we will add a new strategy, maybe to shake things up a little bit, to add new spirit and I’m very confident we’ll go straight to the top.
You are very confident?
Very relaxed. It’s not big time to win 13 games last season.
Why are you so confident you can win a championship in five years?
Five years is really a long run. I live in Russia. Five years is really close to eternity. When we look for our business plan, not more than five years. That’s why five years is maximum for the Nets. All the people share my opinion. Five years is a long run.
Will Rod will be able to pick everyone?
We will have with Rod Thorn some people we view as consideration. Now we’re in the stage of team spirit where we can make decision. I like several options. If it’s one strategy it’s very weak. We need to be very flexible and there is the risk factor.
Will Rod hire Kiki’s replacement?
We discussed several options on this stage. We can follow all of them. As soon as we have understanding what is the option, we agree to some scenario. If there is some problems or additional opportunities he can call anytime and we can discuss.
Will a Russian fill the role?
I think on this stage, Russia suffers from the lack of the level. We need an NBA general manager. We have in Russia maybe three or four candidates who can compete with American people and with their experience for the NBA to be assistant general managers. It’s competition.
Will you bring people from Russia?
It’s possible. But it depends on the level I can find in the market. I need the best I can find.
Are there any coaches you admire?
I have one, but it’s top secret. In the morning I met Mayor Bloomberg. I asked him if he’s interested in coaching the team. He’s thinking seriously about it.
Do you admire anyone?
Admire is the same as favorite. I like some of them.
How fiscally responsible will you be?
You could have all the money in the world, but you have to be smart enough knowing how to spend. I try to be on the smart money side. Once you make a serious mistake, you can suffer five or six years. I will do my best to avoid these mistakes.
How involved will you be in free agency?
I will be here all week .¤.¤.I plan to meet with all free agents I need.
How many will you meet with?
Maybe some of them I want to meet now, but they potentially have obligations and they can’t meet. Time will tell.
Do you know all their names?
For sure.
How have you learned about how the rules work?
I read all the papers two times just to know things that much better. What is coming from the rules. It’s important because it’s a lot of frustration. I’m not allowed to put the name of the free agent. During my ownership of CSKA team we have some comparison. It’s not totally new. I don’t have all the details worked out yet for sure. But I have time.
What can you offer free agents?
We have salary cap room. My goal is to create a dynasty team and I am not in a hurry. We have second year with more free agents coming. That’s why I’m not ready to overpay in order to kill the strategy.
What else can you offer?
Because I think we will be the first really global team in the NBA. For me being the first foreign owner I want to do my best to invite all the fans for the team all over the world. I think the NBA is worldwide. But other teams are more local mentality. In these terms, as a team all the teams are a little behind soccer teams for example like Manchester United, like Real Madrid. When you are the first foreigner in the league you have the best chance to receive support from other foreigners. We need all our fans from New Jersey to Brooklyn and what is good is Brooklyn is home for everyone from everywhere. There are 35 million people living outside the greater metropolitan of New York. If we have the fortune they have passed through Brooklyn. We are going to create and to build a global franchise to sell all around the world. I think I have a competitive advantage compared to other owners.
Do you want to bring the Islanders to Brooklyn?
You have to learn to walk before you can run. First we need to win a championship title in basketball. After you can look around, but it’s not the time now.
Are you a patient man?
I’ve never lost my cool. Not even in love affairs.
How do you handle losing or people saying no?
It’s natural for human beings. I say no. If you have Plan B and Plan C, you’re all the time relaxed.
How do you view the competition within New York?
I think New York is a big city for two teams. It will be great competition. I think it’s good for the fans. It’s great for New York and Brooklyn and everybody.
How about competing with the Knicks for players?
I like competition. Nothing can stop me.
Will you consider European coaches?
We are looking for someone with NBA experience. European basketball rules are a different mentality, completely different relations with coaches and players, It’s a big risk. Maybe someday in the future he can be an assistant coach, but head coach no.
So, no Coach K?
Coach K, he’s a great coach. But I’m looking for an NBA experienced coach. Now it’s a big list.
By NBA experience, do you mean head or assistant?
It’s possible for a current assistant to be head coach of the team.
What is the Nets’ most glaring need?
First we have a very short bench. Second, we need a power forward to play with Brook Lopez. It was a big problem. Points are the biggest problem.
How often will you be here?
My plan is to visit a minimum of 25 percent of the home games, nothing to say about playoffs.
Do you expect to be visible, accessible to players?
I don’t want to be an obstacle to the management. I want to be on the strategy side. If I have questions I can call the president or general manager to discuss it. This is my rule in any business. You need to keep an eye on all the assets, but you need to have a system of how to control the assets. Same here. But it’s a little different. It’s not only business. It’s a labor of love.
At this point, Prokhorov turns the table on the media and says:
Let me ask you some questions. For me it’s a great value to have maybe have some of your ideas. What about the name of the team? Is it okay, the Nets?
Or do we have to try to find something new?
What do you think?
I don’t know. I need your piece of advice. I can put Russian name and nobody knows what it is. The name of the girlfriend. Every time I change, I change the name.
Have you been watching the NBA playoffs?
Last game, Boston against Cleveland.
How many?
Two or three. I’m more interested in the Nets playoffs than the Cavaliers.
When will you have a coach?
I hope I will have a coach by December.
Can you be more specific?
I’m not sure I can be more specific.
December or the summer?
By December (joking).
Do people in Russia watch the NBA?
We have a special channel, 90% is NBA games.
Is it popular?
Soccer and ice hockey are top sports in Russia. Basketball is not yet. My goal is to make it comparable.
Do they have high definition?
No.
Rumor has it you’re going to be the Russian Olympic Federation head?
It’s true. It’s a terrible headache.
What is it about basketball that you love?
On one hand it’s a very interesting and clever game. On the other hand it’s very cheap, you can play on the streets, in spite of the Siberian climate. We can play in practically all the gyms in Russia. They are equipped with sports gyms and some courts you can play. For the time being it’s not very popular. You need the players in order to attract people. In the NBA there are great players. So the NBA players and my knowledge can attract Russian people to great results.
Will you be in the gym with Yi and Lopez?
No. I don’t want them to be jealous. Maybe I’m in better shape.
How good a player were you?
Not as good as the free agents coming.
What level did you play at?
It was the top amateur student league.
Did you play during your university years?
Yes, but it’s very far from NCAA level. It’s very far.
Did you play into your 20s, in recreational leagues?
No. My problem is I don’t like sports when I’m good at it. I need all the time to fight. That’s why I push myself all the time with a discipline I am not good at. Kick-boxing, now it is good after 20 years of training, standup jet-skiing because for the tall guy it’s very difficult, wind-surfing, etc.
You were too good at basketball?
It’s too easy. Too easy now.
Do you remember the 1972 Olympic basketball team?
I was seven years old.
Did that shape popularity in Soviet?
To a certain extent. But the world changed a lot. You need to have franchises, you need to have a network, you need to have good equipment, coaches, managers and good medicine. And for the time being, there is nothing in Russia. The top professional teams, maybe two or three are more or less good, the others very bad. It’s more on the political side of the local government, or if a team can find the passion and support from business. So that’s it.
How did your meeting with Bruce Ratner come about?
When we kept an eye on the Knicks, we used an investment banker to help us a lot. But we had to find the right team. I wanted a team playing in the New York area and at the time we found that it was a combination of businesses for Mr. Dolan. He has a network, Madison Square Garden arena and New York Knicks. He was content with his business and had no opportunity to cut it. After maybe a half year (the banker) called me saying there is another opportunity. There is a team, the New Jersey Nets, and they are moving in two years, three years to Brooklyn, but now it is a long-term project.
Did you have an interest?
I said, ‘Okay,’ and met with Bruce in Moscow.
Did you ever talk to James Dolan?
No.
Did you ever consider buying it all?
No. I don’t need a network. The idea was to buy Madison Square Garden and basketball team and maybe ice hockey team .¤.¤. It’s a waste of time because to buy all the business and 10 billion debt, it was impossible to split.
Will Nets players get the same comforts as Mark Cuban gives the Mavs?
I plan to give the team what it needs. Sometimes, the owners in their passion they made a lot of mistakes giving too much. Need to be balanced, I can say.
You said to attract free agents you’ll use global vision. What do you have that the Knicks don’t?
It depends on the strategy of the team. The New York Knicks have the opportunity to be a global team. But we need to create a strategy to be a global team and find the people who can do this not only here but all over the world. It’s possible. But being a foreign owner of the team is a comparable advantage.
This team can only increase in value. Are you in it for long term? Or do you see yourself flipping the team?
For me it’s really a long-term project. On the one hand, it’s business but on the other hand it’s a labor of love. And when you have such a crazy mixture it’s long term.
How tolerant are you when your team loses?
You need to analyze, what is the reason? If it’s objective, you need to wait. If it’s not enough players, not enough confidence of the staff, we need to add something more. Every case is unique. You need to give assistance to the management to the players to the head coach.¤.¤.
Do you see yourself as a problem solver?
I am very open to discuss any problem.
How long are you here?
I’m leaving tonight
How many times have you been here?
Dozens. But very short trips for business. Two days, three days maximum.
Did you watch the Yanks at the stadium?
No. We are closing two of our important deals. One is media and I don’t understand much of baseball.
Do you know the Nets history with Dr. J, Julius Erving? Why they lost him?
I heard some rumors.
Just curious how much you know. How about the Drazen Petrovic tragedy?
My goal is to cut this tragic line. Create a new fresh history.
Are you planning a name change?
I hope you give me some pieces of advice.
Is there a style you prefer, up-tempo?
I think the best is the result. If you win it doesn’t matter.
What about team chemistry? What type of players do you prefer?
This is the option: if you can have access to all the best players, when you put them together, sometimes it doesn’t work. you need to create a machine, playing good together. This is why, when you have great teams – for example, the Candian ice hockey national team and the Russian national team; in Russia, they were really crushed .¤.¤. just crushed. They were not ready. Something was wrong with the team’s chemistry: too many top stars mixed in wrong ways. I have a really good relationship with head coach of the Russian national team. He’s very talented, but he told me he made a mistake – he invited two ‘black sheeps’ to the team, and all the team spirit was crushed. Sometimes you put together not the best players, but as a team it’s much stronger than very good individuals. And that’s the difference with team spirit, successful and not successful. Sometimes relations on the team are great, but there’s no result. It’s the same in business: you have a nice strategy, everything is okay, but if your market capital is three times less than the same company, same size, same product, something is wrong. By the way, in two weeks, I hope I will have a merger of the biggest business media franchise in Russia. It’s like Russian Bloomberg. It’s a great platform and they had a great strategy, but as soon as they were faced with this global crisis, they were in bankruptcy procedure. But they had a $2 billion US market share, before the crisis. But now, I plan to buy $160 million market capital; I will have 51 percent. Same platform, same company, just a wrong step – one small, wrong step. Great team, very modest. It happens.
Do you prefer to be called Mike or Mikhail?
David Stern is a great man – that’s why it’s his choice. I am flexible. I’m usually ’Mikhail’ or ’Mike.’
What do you think of the European style of basketball?
European basketball, it has different rules. Some of them are great in Europe, but they are not good enough athletes, for example, to play in the NBA. You need to be great athletes to come here. In Europe, if you have a very good IQ and a very good feel for the situation, you can compensate. The court size is smaller, but you can compensate with good positioning on the court. There’s a difference. For example, when CSKA played in Moscow with the Clippers, they played European rules, and for CSKA it was difficult, but they could compete. As soon as we had an experience in Germany, CSKA had a game with the 76ers (under American rules) – no chance. They looked like boys. They had no chance. When you watch John Robert Holden, he’s very fast in European basketball, very good. But when he played against Iverson, you saw immediately why (Iverson) is a top star in the NBA and he is a good player in Europe. Just no chance.
How important is your brand and how does it fit with the Nets?
Please tell me. For the time being, I don’t know. Time will tell, but I’m very open if you give me a piece of advice: What is the right combination?
Are you going to sit with the press on floor in Brooklyn?
I prefer watching the game up, in the suite, because I need the bird’s-eye view to understand what’s going on on the court: what is the plan of the coaches, etc. When you are near the courtside, you feel the passion only. It’s different.
You don’t use a cell phone or e-mail. Why not?
I spend 12-15 hours in my office, I have a secretary, and I have a phone in my car because in Moscow we have lots of traffic jams. Just to be on the safe side, you continue working when you are in the car. I have only two hours in the gym and a few hours sleeping; I don’t have any practical use for a phone. It’s very artificial. 20 years ago, we lived without this, and maybe for your job you need contact immediately, but if I receive news two hours later – on the strategy side – nothing happened.
Why no email?
I have mail and the secretary. When you look at the computer it’s very bad for the eyes. I love reading newspapers or if I receive some kind of email, the secretary prints it and brings it in.
If I need to write a letter or it’s very important, I write everything longhand. And then after my secretary brings them, she will send them. just the same with my blog.
You hand-write your blog?
I’m too old now to start learning how to do it myself. It’s easier to pay more to my secretary to do the job.
So no Twitter?
No. I know the iPad though. But I hope we never meet.