A Closer Look at Mikhail Prokhorov

Julian Garcia of the New York Daily News checks in today with some interesting background on the New Jersey Nets’ newfound benefactor:

The Russian billionaire who is on the verge of funding the Nets’ long-awaited move to Brooklyn is a hard-partying bachelor who was arrested in 2007 on suspicion he was involved in an upscale prostitution ring. […]

Prokhorov, who reportedly could also take over a majority stake in the team if a deal is reached, was arrested in January 2007 while on vacation at a French ski resort when police cracked down on a suspected prostitution ring. According to numerous reports at the time, Prokhorov told investigators that he flew beautiful women in from Russia because he enjoyed their company.

However, investigators suspected that Prokhorov had supplied the women as prostitutes to his wealthy friends and kept the billionaire in custody for several days before releasing him and dropping the charges. Prokhorov later told the French press that “my winter vacation in France was spoiled by local police, who arrested me and my friends without giving any reasonable explanations.” A Ratner spokesperson refused to comment on Prokhorov’s controversial past.

Though easily my favorite part of the article is this little nugget: “At 6-9, Prokhorov would be the sixth-tallest player on the Nets’ roster.” You mean he’s six-foot-nine, a Russian billionaire, and possibly involved in organized crime? Last time I checked, that makes him a Bond villain, not an NBA owner.

Still, with the NBA in dire financial straits and Nets owner Bruce Ratner reportedly looking to offload his principal stake in the team, there’s a real possibility that we could be looking at our newest addition to the NBA ownership family. And I, for one, am excited to see where this goes. American sports needs its own Roman Abramovich. Think Mark Cuban gets frustrated with David Stern? Well Mikhail Prokhorov could just woo him with Russian prostitutes.