Dec 10, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Garnett (2) shoots over Chicago Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy (34) during the first half of their NBA game at United Center.
Dec 10, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Garnett (2) shoots over Chicago Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy (34) during the first half of their NBA game at United Center. REUTERS

The Brooklyn Nets are on the market after Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov decided to put the team up for sale. The Russian has employed the services of a banking firm, Evercore Partners to oversee the process of selling the team which was first reported by Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg News.

Representatives for Nets Barry Baum declined to comment on the story as well as Dana Gorman, the public relations officer for the banking firm. Ellen Pinchuk, the spokesperson for the enigmatic owner cleared that it is just usual for businesses to gauge the value of their company and the team is not rushing to make a sale.

"As we have been saying for many months, team ownership is open to listening to offers," Pinchuk said to Bloomberg. "That's just part of the business. There is nothing imminent in terms of the sale of any stake in the team."

The Nets are mired in a 6-game losing slump and is currently fending off the Detroit Pistons for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs picture. The team has been struggling to produce points in the last game with coach Lionel Hollins even pointing out the team's identity is that it does not know how to score. He sarcastically placed blame on himself for the shooting woes of his wards who have lost again by a huge margin at home to the Houston Rockets Monday.

The 49-year-old Prokhorov acquired the team close to three years ago by putting up $400 million and a stake at the newly put-up Barclay's Center. The Russian owner has an 80% ownerships take in the Nets and 40% share in the facility with reports coming in that Prokhorov is only interested in selling the team. Financial experts place the value of the team at $1.2 billion and the total could run up to $2 billion if the Barclay's Center is included in the transaction.

The team has the highest payroll in the league and is sporting an abysmal record of 16-21. The team advanced to the second round of the playoffs last year only to lose out to the eventual Eastern Conference champions Miami Heat. The financial data of the team also place the Nets losers of $144 million due to the luxury tax it gained by employing high salaried players such as Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

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