Joe Tsai Rumors | Hoops Rumors

New York Notes: Knicks, Ntilikina, Nets, Stauskas

December 13th, 2017 at 4:57pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Lakers playing the Knicks on Tuesday, Luke Walton was asked about his old coach, Phil Jackson, and admitted that Jackson’s ouster in New York didn’t sit particularly well with him, per Al Iannazzone of Newsday.

“I don’t know all the details of what was going on here, obviously, but a mentor to me like that and someone that means as much to me as Phil does, I’m not in favor of it happening,” the current Lakers head coach said of Jackson. “There’s people out here that I wanted to see succeed. I love the triangle offense. I wanted to see that work. But for whatever reasons it didn’t.”

Here’s more out of New York:

Kristaps Porzingis and Frank Ntilikina are showing Knicks fans that it’s okay to be optimistic about the club’s future, says ESPN’s Ian Begley. In praising Ntilikina, Begley notes that the rookie point guard is “low maintenance,” adding that there were some in the Knicks organization who had serious concerns before the draft about LaVar Ball’s impact in the event that the team had a chance to pick Lonzo Ball.
Sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post that the Nets‘ deal to have Joseph Tsai buy a 49% stake in the franchise could be done by the end of the month. Although it’s not finalized yet, controlling owner Mikhail Prokhorov referred to Tsai as “a great partner” who “will help the game and help the NBA.”
While Jahlil Okafor was the primary piece in last week’s trade between the Nets and the Sixers, the deal also gave Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson another reclamation project to work on. As Lewis writes for The Post, it will be interesting to see what Atkinson – who has a reputation as a “guard whisperer” – can get out of Nik Stauskas.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Nets, Miles

November 9th, 2017 at 7:57pm CST by Austin Kent

Despite losing two of their most notable defenders over the course of the offseason, the new-look Celtics boast an imposing defensive front thanks to returning defensive quarterback Al Horford and new addition Kyrie Irving, Chris Forsberg of ESPN writes.

In fact, if the NBA season were to end today, the Celtics would have the highest defensive rating (95.9) of any team since the 2004/05 Spurs. That’s a franchise improvement of 9.6 points over last season, a fact even more impressive when you consider that in addition to the new faces, the club also heavily features youth in their lineup, starting both 21-year-old Jaylen Brown and 19-year-old Jayson Tatum.

As Forsberg writes, the Celtics may have lost defensive skill over the summer but they gained length. By replacing Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder with Irving, Brown and Tatum, the club gained more than a foot in height.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

A profile on new Nets minority owner Joe Tsai reveals that the Alibaba co-founder’s favorite player is Jeremy Lin, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Tsai also praised second-year swingman Caris LeVert.
The Raptors haven’t relied heavily on C.J. Miles from beyond the arc but his presence on the perimeter has served as a decoy for the Raptors’ offense, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes. “He is a product of great spacing,” head coach Dwane Casey said. “He helps our spacing and that is one reason why the roll guy is so productive. They are hugged up on him [out beyond the arc], which is great, and to me that is just as good as C.J. knocking down a three or even getting an attempt.“
While the plan was to keep Marcus Morris on a minute restriction following his return from a knee injury, injuries to other players have impacted that strategy. A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston writes that the newly acquired Celtics forward has been called upon to play 22-25 minutes but that they’ll see how his body responds on a game-by-game basis.

Joseph Tsai Buying 49 Percent Stake In Nets

October 27th, 2017 at 8:08am CST by Luke Adams

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has reached an agreement to sell a 49% minority stake in the Nets to Alibaba executive vice chairman and co-founder Joseph Tsai, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe of ESPN. League sources tell the ESPN duo that Tsai’s purchase will be based on a $2.3 billion valuation of the franchise.

As Wojnarowski and Lowe detail, the agreement between Prokhorov and Tsai will give the new investor the option to take over a majority interest in the franchise in the not-too-distant future. The plan is for Prokhorov to remain the principal and operating owner of the Nets for four more years, with the assumption that he’ll sell his stake once Tsai triggers his option.

As long as Tsai controls just 49% of the team, Prokhorov will continue to oversee the Nets’ basketball and business operations, sources tell the ESPN duo.

Reports of Prokhorov’s willingness to sell 49% of the Nets, with a path to controlling ownership for the new minority shareholder, have surfaced throughout the year. Tsai, whose Alibaba Group is a massive Chinese e-commerce company, had been cited as a possible buyer multiple times, despite the fact that a spokesperson repeatedly denied his interest.

The $2.3 billion valuation on Tsai’s purchase of the Nets is somewhat surprising. Although Brooklyn is certainly a favorable market, the club has won just 41 total games in the last two years, and currently lacks superstar talent. The agreement also doesn’t include ownership of the Barclays Center, the team’s arena. Nonetheless, the $2.3 billion valuation is a new record for an NBA franchise, surpassing the Rockets’ $2.2 billion sale price from earlier this year.

Although the Nets haven’t enjoyed much on-court success in recent years, Tsai has “expressed enthusiasm over the direction of the franchise,” and has confidence in GM Sean Marks and head coach Kenny Atkinson, sources tell Wojnarowski and Lowe. Tsai intends to take advantage of his strong business ties in Asia to create “global business opportunities” for the Nets.

Latest On Nets’ Ownership Situation

October 6th, 2017 at 9:49am CST by Luke Adams

Reports on a potential sale of the Nets have surfaced throughout the offseason, with current owner Mikhail Prokhorov publicly conveying a desire to sell up to 49% of the franchise and denying reports suggesting that he’d be willing to give up control of the team.

This week, a pair of new reports have provided some updates on that process, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights…

Prokhorov is getting closer to selling the Nets, and multiple suitors are in the running to purchase 49% of the franchise, sources tell Josh Kosman of The New York Post. The proposed sale wouldn’t include ownership of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, per Kosman.
Although a potential buyer would only receive a minority stake in the club at this point, the proposed agreement would give that investor the right to buy a larger stake and become controlling owner of the franchise within three years, Kosman reports.
In the wake of the Rockets selling for $2.2 billion, Prokhorov is seeking a sale price that values the Nets at over $2 billion as well. That means a 49% share of the franchise could be worth in the neighborhood of $1 billion.
Two sources told Jessica Toonkel and Olivia Oran of Reuters that Alibaba executive vice chairman Joe Tsai is in advanced talks to buy a stake in the Nets. However, Alibaba spokesperson Jennifer Kuperman called it a “false” report. “Joe Tsai has never talked to the seller and he is not purchasing any stake in the Brooklyn Nets,” Kuperman said in a statement.
Reuters’ initial report indicated that an agreement with Tsai could be finalized within the next few weeks, with a franchise valuation of about $2.2 billion. However, those sources cautioned that the deal could still fall apart.
Kosman, who has previously reported Tsai’s interest in the Nets – which Alibaba denied at that time too – was unable to confirm whether the Taiwanese billionaire is currently in talks with the team.