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The explanation was blunt and a tad crude, but when Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov had to come down out of the Canadian Rockies last month to fire Avery Johnson, it was with a clear mandate. "We have a basket of talent," Prokhorov said just more than three weeks ago. "And they are capable of much more." Finding the root of the Nets' midseason turnaround is as uncomplicated as Prokhorov's assessment suggested. They are now 11-2 since Prokhorov dropped the ax and promoted P.J. Carlesimo after their solid 88-85 victory over the New York Knicks Monday at Madison Square Garden. Seven games back of the Knicks when they made the coaching change, the Nets are now a game back in the Atlantic Division and again have sights set on a top playoff seed as they reach midseason at 25-16. ESPN.com

Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, Mikhail Prokhorov 

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has his struggling Brooklyn squad on his mind even while he’s on a lavish winter getaway. Sources say the Russian billionaire has been spotted skiing in Courchevel, France — and that when a fellow vacationer asked the mogul in Russian about his NBA team, he responded by confidently saying, “I’m going to fix it. We will win.” New York Post

Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov 

Tim Bontemps: PJ says Prokhorov is the "perfect NBA owner ... let's the coach do his job, let's the GM do his job, but you'll be held accountable." Twitter @TimBontemps

Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov, PJ Carlesimo 

I think they will try to talk to Phil Jackson as soon as they can sometime in the next few days when Mikhail Prokhorov comes back from his new years eve partying. I think they'll look to have that conversation. NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Mikhail Prokhorov 

In the midst of telling Ian O'Connor five times that "P.J. is our coach," Billy King said the Nets have not yet contacted anyone about replacing Avery Johnson on a permanent basis. "We have not contacted anybody, not sat down with anybody. We made the move and we're going to let P.J. coach," King told O'Connor on ESPN Radio Sunday, echoing Mikhail Prokhorov's comments Friday night. He did say, repeatedly, that they will re-evaluate P.J. Carlesimo at some point but wouldn't put a timetable on it. "He is going to be the head coach until we re-evaluate things," he said more than once. When asked when that re-evaluation would come, he was again non-committal. "I don't want to put a timetable on it." NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Coaching, Mikhail Prokhorov 

Net Daily: Prokhorov top 2 execs are in from Moscow and sitting courtside: Dmitry Razumov, ONEXIM CEO, and Chris Charlier, Deputy CEO. At PJ lunch too. Twitter @NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov 

“Now, P.J. is the head coach,” Prokhorov said with a smile when Jackson’s name was brought up. “And if [a search] becomes necessary, you know [who] the usual suspects are.” New York Post

Brooklyn Nets, Coaching, Mikhail Prokhorov, PJ Carlesimo 

“[Carlesimo’s] the coach,” said Prokhorov, who is scheduled to meet with Carlesimo sometime today. “Let’s wait and just give him some support. It’s very important for the team.” New York Post

Brooklyn Nets, Coaching, Mikhail Prokhorov, PJ Carlesimo 

Mikhail Prokhorov said in a statement: “The Nets ownership would like to express thanks to Avery for his efforts and to wish him every success in the future." NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Avery Johnson, Coaching, Mikhail Prokhorov 

The decision has been in the works for the past month, said one source, that the Russian ownership had been unhappy with team play since the season's earliest games. According to a second league source, Mikhail Prokhorov was said to have been "very disappointed" with the team's play when he watched three games, all losses, earlier this month. The decision was made by Prokhorov in conjunction with Dmitry Razumov, his No. 2. Razumov has been Prokhorov's contact point with the Nets basketball operations. NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Avery Johnson, Coaching, Mikhail Prokhorov 

Net Daily: Yormark tweet had nothing to do with firing. In fact, he had to step back. Was entirely a Moscow decision. Twitter @NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Avery Johnson, Coaching, Mikhail Prokhorov, Brett Yormark 

With the belief in the organization that the Nets have enough talent to be a top team in the East -- straight from the top, straight from Mikhail Prokhorov -- it's easy to see that this will land at Avery Johnson's feet if it doesn't get fixed. The coach always goes before the unhappy star in this sport, and that's especially true with the Nets, whose multi-billion-dollar business plan all hinged on acquiring him from the Jazz against his will and then persuading him to stay. CBSSports.com

Brooklyn Nets, Avery Johnson, Coaching, Mikhail Prokhorov 

In a wide-ranging interview with L'Equipe, France's most important sports publication, Mikhail Prokhorov says for the first time that he thinks the Nets, "with luck", can become the NBA's most profitable franchise. He did not set a date, but he has told a Russian magazine that he expects his $260 million investment in the Nets and Barclays Center to be worth a billion dollars by 2015. By some reports, it's currently worth an estimated $600 million. "If the planets are in alignment," said the Nets owner when asked about becoming the NBA's biggest money maker. "From our side, work has to be done to build the team and develop the brand. At the same time, we must also have luck." NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov 

In a radio interview in Moscow early Wednesday morning, Mikhail Prokhorov preached patience following the Nets loss to the Lakers. "We have a completely new team, very few older players, so of course, it takes time to play together," Prokhorov told Russian radio station Echo Moskvy. He also reiterated that if the team reaches the conference finals this season he will consider it a success. NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov 

Why did you buy a team there and not here? Mikhail Prokhorov: "For more than 10 years, I was the owner of CSKA and we won everything possible. We played in many finals and won the Euroleague twice. At a certain point you start to realize you’ve hit a wall. Where is the most competitive market? It’s the NBA. And no one (from the outside) had been allowed in there ever. I’m really proud that I’m the first foreigner and representative of Russia who could become part of the most competitive league in the world. And what is happening? We have access to and are carefully looking at basketball practices and techniques, and we’re now drawing our conclusions and want to introduce them into our leagues." NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov 

GQ: A lot of people are fascinated by Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov. Is there a side of him that you've seen that the rest of the world hasn't? He's laid back, man. A lot of the stuff around him is just speculation and rumors. He's a real normal guy. I promise. If you're around him for an extended period of time, you never really have any idea that he's worth $20 billion, or whatever he's worth. I went out to Russia and had dinner at his house, or compound I should say. We just ate, chilled, and hung out. He does a crazy physical workout every day. I don't know. He's really down to Earth. GQ.com

Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov, Deron Williams 

You agreed to a large financial commitment in terms of salaries this offseason. As GM Billy King came to you with each of these potential contracts, did you ever say 'Wait a minute; I've already spent plenty. How much more do you want?' Prokhorov: It's a very good question. It's a combination of love of sport and business. So what we need first is to change the team's mentality. My approach in any business [is] to find the best people on the market and let them do their job. So with Billy King, I have a great guy with excellent feeling of players. With [coach] Avery Johnson, we have undeveloped talent, with strong passion for discipline. And on the one hand, he's great with the players who need real great discipline, and on the other side, he established excellent relations with the stars. So we're a team. And we're a very clever team, because if you look to our roster, it's very, very reasonable. We collect all the pieces in a very reasonable way. So we have, for example, excellent rotation -- like 10, 11, maybe 12 men. And so, this is just very smart [for] team spirit. We all do our job. Because all of our team, we want to have a championship. But it's not a fast way, immediate way. Because we have three years left. NBA.com

Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov 

You did say you would win a title within five years of buying the team. So where are you with that plan? Prokhorov: We only have three years left. I have said, also, that I would marry if we haven't [won] the championship. So I am maybe the most devoted guy for the championship for the time being. NBA.com

Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov 

A minute of video from inside Mikhail Prokhorov's supersuite at Barclays Center on Opening Night, with the Nets owner, Jay-Z and Beyonce, David Stern and Adam Silver and Bill Bradley and a number of Nets officials from Brooklyn and Moscow moving around. A good time was had by all. (Trust us.) The suite above Section 108 is double the size of a normal suite, and ideal for large parties like this one for Opening Night. NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Jay-Z, Mikhail Prokhorov, David Stern, Adam Silver 

Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov did not watch the rival New York Knicks rout the Miami Heat on Friday night. He was too busy sleeping. "Yesterday I went to bed (at) 8 o'clock to be up (at) 4 in morning for great workout," Prokhorov joked during a candid and witty 17-minute news conference prior to Saturday's regular-season opener against the Toronto Raptors at the $1 billion Barclays Center. ESPN.com

Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov