Joseph Tsai will reportedly purchase entirety of the Brooklyn Nets franchise

The Brooklyn Nets have been busy during the NBA off-season, most notably adding the superstar duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency. While Durant is likely to miss most, if not all, of the 2019-20 season, the Nets are still on track to challenge for a playoff spot and, beyond that, the future appears bright for the franchise. This week, though, the Nets made news off the court, with the New York Post reporting a change in ownership. 

The report indicates that Joseph Tsai, co-founder of e-commerce company Alibaba and current 49 percent owner of the Nets, will purchase the remaining 51 percent from incumbent owner Mikhail Prokhorov. While the deal is not official, the reporting indicates that it will be announced "this week" and Tsai paid a hefty price to secure total ownership. 

If the reported figure of $2.35 billion is correct, it would mark the largest price ever paid for an American sports franchise, topping the $2.2 billion price tag for the Houston Rockets in 2017 and the $2.2 billion used to purchase the Carolina Panthers in 2018. Tsai was already on track to secure 100 percent ownership in the near future, with a contract to spend $1.35 billion to purchase the Nets before the 2021-22 season but it appears as if he simply couldn't wait to pull the trigger. 

Though the Nets lag behind the New York Knicks in local fan interest, Brooklyn has a clearer path to success on the floor and, with quality ownership in place alongside top-tier talent on the floor, the stage could be set for an organizational renaissance. Tsai's impact likely won't translate to the floor this season, simply because NBA rosters are virtually set in mid-August, but it will be interesting to monitor what Brooklyn looks like for the future and it helps to have billionaire ownership.