Here’s what we know about Mikhail Prokhorov — international man of mystery that he is — to date: he’s unfathomably rich, he enjoys dangerous-looking water sports, and he will let absolutely nothing get in the way of a good lunch (certainly not the cost.)
As per schedule, Prokhorov met with David Stern and company yesterday in New York, and judging by the celebratory (and wildly expensive) lunch following the meeting, things must’ve gone really well.
The Russian billionaire dropped close to $20,000 for himself and six of his closest buddies at a trendy Gotham restaurant. If there’s something the Nets can count on going forward, it’s that they won’t ever go hungry.
The AP has Stern’s reaction to meeting his soon-to-be new partner, “Mike”:
NBA commissioner David Stern said that Mikhail Prokhorov, who has a deal to buy 80 percent of the Nets, had a positive introduction with NBA owners during their two-day Board of Governors meetings. Prokhorov introduced himself as “Mike” and told owners of his interests in business and basketball.
“The review process is incomplete and the documents are not finalized,” Stern said. “That said, we haven’t surfaced anything that has caused us to have a negative opinion of him. We’re not finished.” But Stern said, ‘We’re looking forward to the completion of that transaction.”
Welcome to America, Mike. Let’s do lunch sometime.
