Sell the Nets, please!
Dear Joe:
I know times have been tough for you as the Nets owner. Your super team of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden imploded, and it hasn’t gotten better since. Your team hasn’t won much, and it sure looks like this team will be watching the playoffs at home this year.
I recently read that you will make it possible for Julia Koch, the heiress of the late David Koch, to buy a minority stake in the Nets. Is this the first step on the path to vacating ownership? If it is, I thank you! If not, I encourage you to reconsider. Why? This team cannot move forward until you and Nets General Manager Sean Marks leave.
The timing is right to sell, too. NBA teams are at a value high. Consider that the Suns sold recently for $4 billion. That’s not a one-off, either. Donald Sterling sold the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion. Glen Taylor could get $5 billion or more if Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez eventually purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves. Mark Cuban recently got $3.5 billion to sell his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson, Sivan Dumont, and Patrick Dumont.
So, if my back-of-the-envelope calculation is close to accurate, I believe you could get the Nets for $5 billion. How can you say no to that?
It’s not like you need the Nets anyway. You don’t go to the games. You don’t seem invested in them since the super team passed away. You have no reason to own the Nets if you don’t care. And let’s face it. You are no better as a Nets owner than previous failures. The Secaucus Seven, Lewis Katz, Bruce Ratner, and Mikhail Prokhorov come to mind.
If you don’t sell the team, I do not know why you want to keep Marks. Sure, I get it that you may not want to deal with a general manager search, but the reality is that Marks has had enough seasons without success. When a GM is about to hire his fourth coach, maybe he is the one who is not cut out for the job.
But I still believe selling is better than looking for Marks’ replacement. Sell it to an owner who knows something about basketball and is interested in winning. Sell it to an owner who knows how to get stars here. Sell it to an owner with the chops to make this team relevant in New York. And if succeeding here isn’t in the cards, sell it to an owner who can move the Nets to a market where people care, like Kansas City.
If you sell the Nets now, you can leave with some dignity because you will have done the right thing. Fans will thank you.
Please think about it.
Sincerely,
Leslie Monteiro
