The New Jersey Nets haven't been shy about publicizing their planned move to Brooklyn in the coming years, and Mikhail Prokhorov hasn't been shying about going after new fans will billboards all over New York City. But the NBA Lockout makes things more complicated.
Teams aren't allowed to acknowledge their players exist, let alone use their likeness in city-wide promotions. So that means saying goodbye to this big ole Deron Williams "Welcome" billboard.
But here's where it helps to have the coolest rapper alive as your minority owner.
The photo comes via Brooklyn Trolley Blogger:
And nobody's saying the NBA Lockout is a good thing, but if you're the Nets, this should have been the marketing strategy all along. It's nice that they traded for Deron Williams and everything, but let's be serious. They were still pretty terrible even after they landed themselves a franchise player. With or without Deron Williams, the Nets are still the Nets.
But with that billboard? "Damn, that's Jay-Z's team," people will remember. "Won't it be cool when he moves them back to Brooklyn?"
(HT: Nets Daily)