Nets GM Billy King answers NYT Magazine's softball questions; here are a few that didn't get asked

The typically chatty "Questions for" column in the New York Times Magazine today addresses Brooklyn Nets General Manager Billy King, in The New Net Worth. The conversation ranges to King's political ambitions, his soap opera habit, his thoughts on the Kris Humphries-Kim Kardashian nuptials, and turmoil at the Philadelphia 76ers, where he was president.

Only three questions, opening up, focus on the current job:

The principal owner of the Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov, is something of a mysterious character. What’s it like being interviewed by a 6-foot-8 Russian oligarch?
I asked him at the end, If I get this job, do you want me to call you with reports or send you e-mails? And Mikhail goes, You can, but I don’t have a cellphone and I don’t have a laptop.
Do you ever hear from Jay-Z, who is a minority owner?
A lot of times he’ll shoot me an e-mail with questions. The first time I got an e-mail from him was pretty cool. Jay-Z sent you an e-mail.
What does he typically want to know?
How he can help. When Deron Williams was making his decision, he was struggling for a place to live. Jay-Z goes, “Tell him I’ll call him tomorrow and I’ll help.” It’s a lot about being able to relate to being wealthy, being young, being African-American. He can relate to them where maybe I can’t or Mikhail can’t.

Here are a couple of more provocative questions that didn't apparently didn't come up:

• Have you ever asked Prokhorov how he got rich in an atmosphere of pervasive corruption?
• How'd you feel about having to promote Jay-Z as the face of the team instead of the rather mediocre collection of players on the court?
• Once Prokhorov decided to rather painlessly open his wallet to overpay for a better team now that the Nets are in Brooklyn, do you feel any guilt about providing New Jersey fans with such a mediocre team?
• How does basketball as a business work? You go from steadily dangling center Brook Lopez in trade talks, then, when that trade falls through, celebrate him as a Brooklyn Net.