Part of all this is the mystery surrounding Prokhorov, the distrust that comes with how he amassed his fortune, and his bold predictions of an NBA title within five years of purchasing the franchise.
When the Boston Celtics made the Kevin Garnett deal to make themselves championship contenders, everyone accused Minnesota Timberwolves general manager Kevin McHale of preferential treatment of the Celtics and their general manager, Danny Ainge, in the deal. When Pat Riley brought LeBron James and Chris Bosh together for discounts on max contracts, there were cries of collusion.
Nets officials will privately tell you they understand these suspicions were inevitable – even if they believe the suspicions are misguided and misinformed. Nevertheless, Kirilenko has long been a target of Prokhorov, the highest-profile Russian star in the NBA and forever an object of the owner’s desire. The Nets were discussing deals to back up Pierce with the pedestrian Alan Anderson until discussions with Kirilenko became more serious in the past several days.