Report: Nets Owner To Tone Down Spending In Effort To Get $1B Valuation

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- We know that Mikhail Prokhorov is not afraid to open his wallet when it comes to improving his team. We've seen it firsthand.

But according to the New York Post, the Nets' owner is planning to tone down his spending in an effort to get his team to the $1 billion valuation mark.

Bruce Ratner's Forest City Enterprises is looking to sell its 20 percent stake in the team. According to the newspaper, the Nets are "far from" profitable, and Prokhorov is concerned that if the team is losing money it will scare away deep-pocketed bidders who could be looking to buy Ratner's stake.

In order for Prokhorov to reach his intended $1 billion mark, Ratner needs to sell his 20 percent for $200 million, the New York Post reported.

It isn't such an outrageous number after former Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer agreed to pay $2 million for the Clippers following the Donald Sterling fallout.

"If it were a control sale, I think you could get $1 billion easily," one potential suitor told the newspaper. "This (minority-stake evaluation) is a little tough."

Prokhorov, who has said time and time again that he will do whatever it takes to bring a championship to Brooklyn, spent $102 million in payroll this past season. Because the owner steamrolled past the maximum $72 million, the Nets were forced to pay more than $90 million in luxury taxes.

All that spending didn't lead to a championship, as the Nets nipped the Raptors in seven games in the first round of the NBA playoffs before falling to the Heat in five.

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