Nets roundup: new CEO, new court colors, and taking the New York narrative from the Knicks

There's a lot going on with the Brooklyn Nets, getting ready for a big year after what Bob Windrem (aka Net Income) of NetsDaily called "the greatest off-season in Nets history."

A new team CEO

They've hired David Levy, former president of Turner Media, as a replacement for Brett Yormark as CEO of the team. Here's the 9/18/19 press release, which notes that Levy also will be President of J Tsai Sports, the sports investment and holding vehicle controlled by team owner Joe Tsai, and join Tsai’s family office as a venture partner.

From the press release:

During his tenure, Levy was instrumental in expanding Turner’s sports media rights with a number of leagues and organizations, including the NBA, MLB, PGA of America and UEFA. In 2012, he led the efforts for Turner to acquire Bleacher Report.

The Daily News quoted Levy as saying stars Kyrie Irving and (the injured) Kevin Durant will drive ratings and revenue, helping the team and arena. (Will Durant come back this season? The Nets are being conservative and saying no, but it's not impossible.)

From the Daily News:

Levy said he met Tsai at a board of governors meeting for the National Lacrosse League. Tsai owns one of the league’s teams, the San Diego Seals, and Levy had negotiated a deal to stream its games on Bleacher Report Live.

Prokhorov wins big

Russian media outlet Tass, in a 9/20/19 interview with Mikhail Prokhorov upon selling the team and arena operator to Tsai, offered this quote:

"It’s been an amazing project from a business point of view," Prokhorov said in an interview with TASS. "I don’t know of another investment that has shown this kind of return in a relatively short period, so it was simply too good to pass up."

Still, to quote NetsDaily:

One last question is what will Prokhorov do with this other New York assets: Nassau Coliseum, the Brooklyn Paramount Theater and Webster Hall in Manhattan. It appears that Prokhorov is willing to sell the three venues, too. The Coliseum property is actually a lease of the arena and the 77 acres surrounding it. Prokhorov holds the rights to build out the property as a multi-use development.

Lording it over the Knicks

They're offering 10,000 Kyrie Irving jerseys when the Knicks--long the dominant New York team but stuck in an eternal doldrums, unable to attract free agents--come to visit.

Wrote Newsday's Barbara Barker:

It was no secret that the Knicks had been gunning for these two players all season. By coming in and stealing their cheese, the Nets confirmed what we all sort of suspected: This generation of players, just like this generation of fans, doesn’t care all that much about tradition. They would rather be a part of a Brooklyn startup than a legacy franchise.

Still, the Post's George Willis offered a warning about hype:

Let face it, until Durant gets on the court — which could be a year from now — the Nets are going to be a work in progress. Expect some struggles early in the season as at least eight new players learn to play alongside each other.

New court colors

The Nets have a new court, replacing black-and-white with gray, reports ESPN:

But [GM Sean] Marks wanted change, to put his artistic imprint on the franchise he has helped reinvent, and he had a radical idea: a gray floor meant to evoke blacktop courts, the streets of Brooklyn, and the borough's "industrial vibe," he says. Gray has been on the fringes of the team's Brooklyn-era palette, including on the alternate Brooklyn Dodgers-themed uniforms they wore in past seasons.

Also, writes Zach Lowe:

The court will be a little splashier on nights when Brooklyn wears The Notorious B.I.G.-inspired city edition jerseys with multicolored trim meant to mimic the legendary rapper's Coogi sweaters. (Those jerseys will be white this season, the team says. They were black last season.) That trim, which the teams calls "Brooklyn Camo," will ring some of the boundarie.