(Somewhere in NJ) -- Its a well known fact that throughout the world certain countries receive U.S. imports later then others. There are still some countries that have not yet received Michael Jackson's Thriller. Countries full of Members Only jackets and Jordache Jeans.I never thought it would be the world power of Russia but from what I can gather their sports news is around five years late, who else can you rationalize hiring former Sixers GM Billy King to run your franchise.
Mikhail Prokhorov, I understand your still mad you didn't get a sniff during "The Decision" but there is no need to give up already. Avery Johnson was a smart pick as a coach but Billy King as GM... not so much. I think Bill Simmons summed it up best.
First they signed Travis Outlaw to a five-year $35 million deal then they picked up Jordan Farmar and John Petro as your top free agent acquisitions.
Either Prokhorov doesn't understand the U.S. Russian changeover rate or this guys is treating this like a fantasy team. Either way you look at it for a team that went 12-70 none of these moves seem like signs on improvement.
Like a Synder for the Redskins, or a Peter Angelos of the Orioles. money or access to it does not always translate into wins or sports success. Prokhorov made his money in the post-Soviet collapse of the Russian oil industry by essenically paying off the old KGB and state security services to look the other way. Things are a bit different here. Billy the K is indeed a lucky man, 13 wins out of 82 games in 2011 will be a success. See how long P.'s patience is though. Then comes the lock-out, maybe he is not so dumnb after all.
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This move answers the question about Prokhorov intent for the team. This will purely be a business venture. Using this off-season as an example he will spend money razing the profile of the team to increase their resale value in the future with little thought to landing key free agents. He will drum up interest in the team to sell tickets, (currently there is a building sized billboard of him a Jay-Z across from Madison Square Garden). Then after the lock out they move from Newark to the Brooklyn Yards Arena. A location in NYC and higher attendance regardless of on the court performance will easily double the value of the team. After 5 to 10 seasons they might make the playoffs in the east a few times with a .500 record, and once the economy recovers he can easily sell the team for double or by that time triple what he paid; not a bad business move but I if I lived up that way I would not give up those Devils season tickets anytime soon, sorry Jersey.
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