Tag: Joe Tsai

Report: Nets in talks with billionaire Julia Koch for 10% ownership stake

According to a report from Sportico on Thursday, the Brooklyn Nets are in talks with billionaire Julia Koch for her to become part-owner.

The Brooklyn Nets have been owned by Joseph Tsai since September 2019 and since then, the team has seen mixed results on the court due to a variety of factors. To add an interesting wrinkle to something that could impact the team years from now due to something off the floor, it’s possible that more voices could be added to the Nets soon.

Per a report on Thursday from Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico, the Nets are in conversations with billionaire Julia Koch for her to acquire about 10% of an ownership stake in the Nets’ parent company, BSE Global. Koch, who was married to billionaire David Koch before he passed away on Aug. 23, 2019, is “looking to invest” along with her children, according to what the sources told Sportico.

BSE Global, which also owns Barclays Center and the WNBA’s New York Liberty, did not comment on the report, per Sportico. According to what one of the sources told Sportico, Koch Industries is not involved in the transaction and that Tsai, along with his wife Clara Wu, would retain control of the Nets.

This report is eerily similar to how the Tsais became owners of the Nets just a few years ago, aside from the percentage of ownership being purchased. While the Tsais became owners of the franchise in 2019, they initially purchased a 49% ownership stake in the team in October 2017 from then-owner Mikhail Prokhorov.

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Nets’ owner Joe Tsai says basketball players are ‘difficult to manage’

Nets’ owner Joe Tsai says basketball players are “difficult to manage.”

Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai recently made an appearance at the BEYOND Expo 2023 conference and made some polarizing comments. Tsai, co-founder of Alibaba Group and also an owner of the New York Liberty, spoke at the gathering about how, in part, that AI will redefine digital entertainment.

In essence, Tsai said that he manages a basketball team and that the players are difficult to manage. Tsai did not mention any players specifically, but anyone who is familiar with the Nets over the past few seasons know how much drama happened with the organization during the time that Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden were with the team.

There has been a lot of talk recently of how hard it is to manage more than one superstar on the same team, but Brooklyn was trying to win a championship by getting Durant and Irving to come to the Nets in the first place. Now that none of the aforementioned superstars are in Brooklyn, Tsai can go back to having an “easy” team.

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Joe Tsai says Kyrie Irving has work to do before return

Brooklyn Nets governor Joe Tsai said on Saturday that guard Kyrie Irving has work to do if he wants to resume playing for the Nets.

Brooklyn Nets governor Joe Tsai said on Saturday that guard Kyrie Irving has more to prove if he wants to resume playing for the Nets. Irving has been serving an indefinite suspension for tweeting a link to a movie deemed to be antisemitic and refusing to apologize for doing so until after he was suspended.

It was reported at the time that the suspension was for at least five games depending on how the situation unfolded. Irving missed the Nets’ 110-95 win over the Clippers on Saturday, the fifth game he has missed while suspension. However, it has now been reported that Irving will not play against the Lakers on Sunday which indicates that the suspension is ongoing. Tsai explains why Irving is not playing just yet.

“He still has work to do. He has to show people that he’s sorry. What’s important and what people miss is he only apologized after he was suspended.”

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Joe Tsai facing ‘strong’ pushback against Ime Udoka hire

The latest update on the Nets’ reported plans to hire Ime Udoka.

According to recent reporting from NBA insider Marc Stein, the Brooklyn Net’s plan to hire Ime Udoka as the club’s next head coach may be on pause. Stein stated there have been some “strong” opponents to the move within the league.

Last week Brooklyn and former head coach Steve Nash agreed to part ways and shortly thereafter the club was linked to suspended Celtics coach Ime Udoka. Despite currently serving a one-year suspension for an improper workplace relationship, Boston reportedly would allow Udoka to leave and take another head coaching job elsewhere.

Although Brooklyn’s aims to hire Udoka have been widely reported, the club has yet to officially announce anything. Reports of possible disagreement internally would help explain the Nets relative silence here. Interim coach Jacque Vaughn has been leading the club in the absence of any further changes on the sidelines.

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Report: Kyrie Irving ignored messages from Joe Tsai in buildup to suspension

According to a new report from ESPN, Nets owner Joe Tsai’s attempts to reach out to Kyrie Irving were met with silence.

The Brooklyn Nets suspended Kyrie Irving indefinitely on Thursday night, leading Irving to issue a long-awaited apology to the Jewish community for promoting an antisemitic film.

It was team governor Joe Tsai who first called out Irving publicly on Twitter on October 29th, writing that he wanted to sit down and discuss the situation with Irving.

In the following days, as Irving’s comments in the media exacerbated the situation, Tsai reportedly wanted to give Irving a chance to try to remedy the situation, and reportedly resisted pressure to punish Irving sooner.

As ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Friday, however, Tsai’s attempts to reach out to Irving personally were met with silence. According to ESPN, Irving did not return any of Tsai’s messages.

Via ESPN:

“Against the backdrop of calls for swift action, sources said Tsai had resisted and insisted on taking time to educate Irving on the horrors of antisemitism. He’d enlisted the counsel of the Anti-Defamation League, watched the full 3½ hours of the hate-filled movie Irving had shared.

…. As it turned out, the redemptive arc that Tsai had imagined for his star had devolved into what the owner felt was a repetitive exercise in Irving’s betrayal of good faith, sources said. For nearly a week, Tsai kept extending the clock to give Irving a chance to get this right for himself, the franchise and the Jewish community — and Irving never returned a single of his text messages, sources said.”

Nets general manager Sean Marks said Friday that if Irving is willing to take the steps laid out to him by the team, which include “objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct,” the organization will then evaluate if Irving is ready to return.

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Nets’ Joe Tsai ‘disappointed’ in Kyrie Irving for promoting antisemitic film: ‘It is wrong to promote hate’

Joe Tsai issued a public condemnation of star guard Kyrie Irving after Irving tweeted a link to an antisemitic film.

In a crucial contract year, Nets star Kyrie Irving has so far been excelling on the court and saying all the right things to the media, holding his teammates accountable for a slow start to the year.

Just a few weeks into the season, though, Irving has suddenly become embroiled in yet another off-court controversy, one serious enough that Nets governor Joe Tsai issued a public condemnation in response on Twitter.

On Thursday, Irving tweeted an Amazon link to the film “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.” As detailed by Rolling Stone, the film contains antisemitic themes.

Via Rolling Stone:

“A description for the film states that it ‘uncovers the true identity of the Children of Israel,’ while a similar one for the book reads, “Since the European and Arab slave traders stepped foot into Africa, blacks have been told lies about their heritage.” Both suggest Hebrews to Negroes espouse ideas in line with more extreme factions of the Black Hebrew Israelites, which have a long history of misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and especially antisemitism.”

The Nets released an initial response to Nets Daily, saying the “Nets strongly condemn and have no tolerance for the promotion of any form of hate speech.”

Tsai followed up with a personal response on Friday, tweeting that he wants to meet with Irving and “make sure he understands” it is “wrong to promote hate based on race, ethnicity or religion.”

Update: Irving has issued a response on Twitter.

Irving’s promotion of the film comes in the wake of Ye’s controversy over antisemitic remarks. The artist formerly known as Kanye West has lost various endorsement deals in recent days, and several athletes, notably Jaylen Brown and Aaron Donald, have cut ties with his Donda Sports agency.

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Jay Williams explains how Joe Tsai should respond to Kevin Durant

Should the Brooklyn Nets cave to Kevin Durant’s reported demands?

In a meeting with Brooklyn Nets governor Joe Tsai, superstar Kevin Durant gave his organization an ultimatum: find a trade or fire embattled head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks.

Details of the meeting were reported on Monday, and set off a firestorm of social media activity across the NBA world. In a tweet, Tsai indicated that he’s standing behind his staff, writing that the front office and coaching staff “will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.”

Should the Nets cave to Durant’s demands? According to ESPN’s Jay Williams, Tsai should stand firm and “call KD’s bluff,” hoping to find some middle ground with his superstar player.

“Just because you make an ultimatum doesn’t mean that I need to abide by it…. If I were Joe Tsai, in my opinion, I would call KD’s bluff. Because at the end of the day, I think KD loves the game of basketball, and I’m curious to see to what extent KD is willing to go to in order to not be on this basketball team. I might find middle ground with Steve Nash, to a degree, I might say ‘hey, let’s find a way to talk this out. Who are the better, other candidates you can bring to the table for Steve Nash?'”

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Joe Tsai appears to choose Steve Nash, Sean Marks over Kevin Durant

Brooklyn Nets governor Joe Tsai appears to choose Sean Marks and Steve Nash over Kevin Durant after their meeting.

The Kevin Durant saga continues for the Brooklyn Nets as superstar Kevin Durant met with team governor Joe Tsai out in London and delivered an ultimatum: either fire GM Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash or trade me.

It appears that Durant is definitely fed up with Nash and Marks as he is not happy with the direction the organization is going. Despite the Nets going out and bringing in really good pieces such as Royce O’Neale and TJ Warren, the former league MVP wants out of Brooklyn.

After the meeting between governor and superstar, Tsai took to Twitter with a clear message as it appears that he has chosen Marks and Nash over Durant. Tsai’s interests are focused on the Nets rather than whatever Durant wants.

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As this saga plays out, the Nets have to make a move quickly. Training camp is in roughly six weeks and then the preseason begins on Oct. 3 for Brooklyn. They have to make a decision on what they plan to do with Durant as well as their front office.

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NBA Twitter reacts to Kevin Durant’s demands for Joe Tsai

NBA fans and analysts react to Kevin Durant’s demands for Joe Tsai.

Monumental change is likely coming to the Brooklyn Nets’ organization, whether Kevin Durant stays or is finally traded.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Monday that in a meeting with Nets governor Joe Tsai, Kevin Durant reiterated his desire to be traded – unless Tsai fires both head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks.

Nash had been heavily criticized by fans and by analysts in the media following a first-round sweep at the hands of the Celtics, though Durant has been publicly supportive of Nash to this point. Durant endorsed Nash as the right person to coach the Nets back in April, and said he was “proud of [Nash’s] passion for us.”

Marks, meanwhile, has served as Nets GM since 2016, and made headlines during the offseason by saying the Nets needed a culture change and to build around players “that want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.” To most, that was a direct shot at Nets guard Kyrie Irving.

Here’s what fans and analysts are saying about Durant’s demands:

Report: Kevin Durant plans to meet with Nets team owner Joe Tsai

Reports indicate that superstar Kevin Durant will be meeting with Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai later this week.

While the market for Brooklyn Nets’ disgruntled superstar Kevin Durant is wide, it seems as if no teams are willing to pay the price for the former MVP.

While some teams have reportedly made offers, the Nets organization has been patient to not yet go forward with a trade package. Brooklyn wants to ensure that they are bringing in All-Star and young talent alongside some draft compensation, and they will wait to return value on Durant.

A source told basketball writer Steve Bulpett of Heavy Sports that Durant will be meeting with the Nets and New York Liberty owner soon:

“What I’m hearing is that KD is going to meet with the owner this week,” said the source. “He’s going to go directly to the owner, Joe Tsai, sometime this week. We’ll see how that works.”

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It’s up in the air as to whether or not the Nets will end up shipping Durant, but the team has made it clear that they will not move him until they get back valuable assets.

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