Mikhail Prokhorov has officially agreed to sell the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center to Joe Tsai on Friday, the team announced. 

The sale is likely to be completed in September, following the approval of the NBA Board of Governors. 

Tsai previous bought a 49 percent stake in the Nets for $1.1 billion in 2018. That purchase, plus the recent Friday announcements, brings to approximate total purchase near $2.35 billion. With Barclays Center included, the total nears $3.5 billion. 

Ten-time All-Star and free agent forward Carmelo Anthony has been participating in informal team workouts and scrimmages with Brooklyn Nets players in Los Angeles recently, per SNY sources.

Anthony, who played 10 games with the Houston Rockets last season before being released, said last week in an interview on First Take that he and his representatives have been in touch with several teams, including the Lakers and Clippers, about potentially signing a contract for the coming season.

It is unknown if the Nets are one of the teams that Anthony and his representatives have talked to about a potential signing. The club's interest level in signing Anthony to a contract is also unknown.

Joseph Tsai has owned 49 percent of the Nets for the last year, but it now sounds like he is poised to become the team's sole owner.

According to a report from the New York Post, Tsai is set to buy the remaining 51 percent of the team from Mikhail Prokhorov for $2.35 billion, which would be the highest price ever paid for a sports franchise, topping what David Tepper paid for the Carolina Panthers last year ($2.2 billion).

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Thanks to Brooklyn's big moves in free agency, the Knicks-Nets rivalry will be relevant again this season. And the Nets will see plenty of their crosstown rivals early in the year.

Brooklyn plays New York on Oct. 25 at the Barclays Center - the club's second game of the season - and travels to Madison Square Garden for the first time on Nov. 24.

There should be plenty of energy in both buildings after Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant - two of the Knicks' top targets in free agency - signed with Brooklyn in July.

Kevin Durant offered his thoughts on signing with the Nets and playing with Kyrie Irving for the first time in an interview with Yahoo! Sports. 

Here are a few takeaways: 

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As you'd expect, the Nets aren't providing any timetable for Kevin Durant's return to the court. 

"We're certainly not going to rush him back," GM Sean Marks said recently on a WFAN interview. "There's going to be absolutely none of that. We have far too much invested in him, and we owe it to Kevin to get him back to 100%."

Will Durant ever be fully healthy after tearing his right Achilles? And can he return to the court next season? 

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Spencer Dinwiddie isn't going to sneak up on anyone this season. He's doubled his scoring over the last three seasons and established himself as one of the most important players on the Nets. So, opponents will key on Dinwiddie this season when they go over defensive plans for a game against Brooklyn. To counter that, Dinwiddie's added a few more wrinkles to his offensive repertoire this summer. 

Below, Dinwiddie's trainer, Olin Simplis, takes us through some of Dinwiddie's new finishes, what Caris Levert has worked on during sessions with Dinwiddie and Simplis and how Dinwiddie and LeVert can thrive alongside new Net Kyrie Irving. 

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New Net DeAndre Jordan shed a little light on his decision to sign with the Nets over the Knicks in free agency.

 

"Not to knock the culture the Knicks are creating," he said during an a promotional appearance for Dunkin', according to Gothamist, "but we like what [Nets coach] Kenny [Atkinson]'s doing and [general manager] Sean [Marks] has been awesome and the organization, from top to bottom, has been great. So you want to be a part of something like that, especially when you have a chance to play with other great players and build something."

Forbes released its 2019 version of the 50 most valuable sports franchises in the world on Monday, and all 50 teams have a value of at least $2 billion. 

Six New York teams made the cut, with two of those teams (Yankees and Knicks) leading their respective sports. No NHL or MLS teams made the top 50, although the Rangers are the highest-ranking hockey team at 72 with a value of $1.55 billion. 

Here are the local rankings, which are based on Forbes' published valuations over the past 12 months:

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Sixers star Tobias Harris has a message for the Nets - and any other revamped team in the East with hopes of making a deep playoff run.
 
"We're for sure at the top in the East," Harris said Thursday at the NBPA/Five-Star Camp at Basketball City. "With that being said, it's the NBA. It's hard to win games in the NBA. We know it's going to take a lot of chemistry. It's going to take work from every single guy on the team. We have big goals for ourselves, our team, our organization. We're ready for it."

Harris, who signed a five-year, $180 million deal to stay in Philadelphia, re-joins a Sixers core of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Philadelphia also added Al Horford and Josh Richardson. 

Nets general manager Sean Marks said in an interview with WFAN on Tuesday that Kevin Durant - and Durant alone - will decide when he returns to the court for Brooklyn. He also said the club will give Kyrie Irving a 'clean slate,' rather than pass judgement on what may or may not have happened with Irving last season in Boston.

Marks touched on those topics - and several others - during his interview with WFAN's Evan Roberts. 

Here are some highlights:

Another NBA player has chosen Brooklyn.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday that 22-year-old forward Henry Ellenson has agreed to sign a two-way deal with the Nets, where he will compete for a role on the team's bench. He will also be eligible to be sent down and recalled from the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn's G-League affiliate, without having to be placed on waivers.

Ellenson is a big forward at 6'11 and 245 pounds, but profiles best as a stretch four. Over his first three NBA seasons, Ellenson has averaged 4.3 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 35.3 percent on three-pointers. He had his best statistical season last year, averaging 6.0 points and 3.5 rebounds while hitting 44.7 percent of his three-pointers with both the Pistons and Knicks.

The Nets and guard David Nwaba have agreed to a two-year deal, according to The Athletic. The contract includes a team option for the second year. 

Upon his signing, Nwaba brings the Nets to a full 15-man roster, after the team made big splash free agent additions earlier this offseason in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Nwaba, 26, played with the Cavaliers last season, averaging 6.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. 

According to ESPN, Nwaba's deal is for the veteran minimum, $1.7 million and $1.8 million each season, respectively. Nwaba will battle with the likes of Garrett Temple, Caris LeVert and others for playing time in 2019. 

The NBA completely reshaped itself in a little over a week's time, shifting the balance of power in dramatic ways for years to come.

Gone are the days of the unbeatable Golden State Warriors, ditto for the Russell Westbrook-led Oklahoma City Thunder and fledgling Los Angeles Clippers. The Knicks have seen similar changes in their own neighborhood, as the splash the Brooklyn Nets made in free agency has made the Atlantic Division no walk in Central Park. 

Here are the starting lineups each team in the revamped Atlantic Division could roll out come October, ranked, and how the Nets stack up:

The Brooklyn Nets did not even need a meeting to secure Kevin Durant in free agency. 

GM Sean Marks revealed at a press conference on Tuesday that Durant committed to the Nets via Instagram without even taking a meeting or speaking with the team. 

"The Instagram post that he put out, we were all sitting in the office and we all got that in real time with you guys," Marks said. "We weren't even sure if we were getting a meeting that night or a telephone conversation with him."

Nets guard Joe Harris played with Kyrie Irving in Cleveland and he believes the public perception of Irving doesn't align with the person he knows.

"Kyrie, he's got a big personality. I think he's one of these guys that's misunderstood," Harris told reporters in Las Vegas, per The Athletic's Michael Scotto. "I think the way that he's construed in the media is probably going to paint him in a light that is not necessarily true."

Harris said he had 'a lot of good times' with Irving when they played together in Cleveland for parts of two seasons.

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LAS VEGAS -- With Kyrie Irving and (an injured) Kevin Durant on the roster, the Nets, understandably, have high expectations.

"Now it's championship talk. That's all you've got to think about, It's what we've got to work toward," new Net Taurean Prince said on Sunday at halftime of Brooklyn's Summer League game. "We've got to do exactly what we've got to do to get there. Whether it's with Kevin Durant or without him, and then next year even with him, it's same talk."

Brooklyn added Durant and Irving to a team that won 42 games and made the playoffs last season. Durant, of course, is expected to miss the season while rehabbing from an Achilles injury.

Kevin Durant will have a fresh start and a fresh jersey number with the Nets.

Durant revealed he will wear No. 7 with Brooklyn.

"35 took my family and me from Seat Pleasant, MD, and showed us the world," Durant wrote. "... But as I start this new chapter inn my basketball life, the number I'll be wearing on my back is the number 7 next time you see me on the floor."

With the major chips falling in NBA free agency, the next tier of signings are underway and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is now a former Brooklyn Nets player.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the 24 year old has signed a one-year deal with the defending champions, the Toronto Raptors. Hollis-Jefferson is a former first-round pick, going off the board at pick No. 23 at the 2015 NBA draft. Hollis-Jefferson was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers and then his draft rights were traded to the Nets where he spent the first four years of his career.

The Nets announced two of their five big free-agent signings on Sunday, making the Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan deals official.

Three more signings remain: Wilson Chandler, Garrett Temple and, of course, Kevin Durant.

"The entire coaching staff is excited to have the opportunity to coach a player of Kyrie's caliber," Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said in a press release. "He is as talented and accomplished as any point guard in our game and we are enthusiastic about integrating him and our other new roster additions into our returning core."

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Ex-Net Jared Dudley has some interesting insight on Kevin Durant's decision to sign with the Nets (over the Knicks) and DeAndre Jordan's role in Brooklyn's acquisition of Durant and Kyrie Irving.

In an interview with ESPN's The Woj Pod, Dudley, who signed with the Lakers on Thursday, said Irving and Durant made the right decision to sign with Brooklyn "because of the organizational stability over there."

While making it clear that he wants the Knicks to do well because it's good for the NBA's business, Dudley believes that the Nets will usurp attention from the Knicks now that they have Durant and Irving.

The Nets' roster overhaul continued on Tuesday evening, with the team reportedly adding veteran Wilson Chandler.

According to a report from Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports, Chandler will join the Nets on a one-year deal.

An 11-year NBA veteran, Chandler has spent time with the Knicks, Nuggets, Sixers, and Clippers, averaging 12.9 point per game. He's always been a decent three-point shooter as well, shooting 34.3 percent from beyond the arc.

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Let's take a look at some issues surrounding the seismic events of the last two days for the Knicks and the Nets: 

WAS KEVIN DURANT GOING TO COME TO THE KNICKS?

Executives and agents felt for months that if Durant decided to leave Golden State, he was going to come to the Knicks. Several of Durant's current and former teammates believed it was going to happen. During the season, people around Durant were telling confidants that he was likely headed to the Knicks if he chose to leave Golden State, per SNY sources. And it's safe to assume that Durant wasn't planning to come alone. The Knicks, of course, had enough cap space to land two stars. 

The Nets made the biggest free agent splash when they landed Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to their team next season.

These two top free agents had options this summer as to where they wanted to spend the next few years in their careers. For Irving, playing back home was something he envisioned, and that's the reasoning he gave in an Instagram video he posted on Monday...

CHECK IT OUT BELOW

The Nets continue to surprise everyone this offseason with another unexpected move on Sunday night. 

D'Angelo Russell is reportedly the crux of a sign-and-trade deal with the Warriors, reports The Athletic's Shams Charania. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski added the terms to the deal being four years, $117 million. The deal will also include G Shabazz Napier and F Treveon Graham from Brooklyn to Golden State. 

The Nets extended a qualifying offer to Russell on Friday, as they looked forward to their splashes in the free agency pool. It was always expected that if the Nets landed Kyrie Irving, which they did along with Kevin Durant, that Russell's time in Brooklyn was over as SNY's Ian Begley has been reporting.

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are both coming to New York ... but they're not playing their home games at Madison Square Garden.

Durant and Irving both agreed to four-year near-max deals with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, making them contenders in the Eastern Conference while also putting the New York Knicks in a position where they had to release a statement about how they missed out on two of the top free agents.

How did New York's back pages react? Well ...

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The Brooklyn Nets have two of the best players in the NBA - a gut punch to the New York Knicks.

Kevin Durant announced on Sunday via his sports business network "The Boardroom" that he will be playing with the Nets next season.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, who first reported Durant's commitment, the two-time Finals MVP is expected to sign a four-year contract worth just below the max of $164 million. Durant is expected to be joined by his friend, Kyrie Irving, who reportedly will work quickly on reaching an agreement with the Nets.

After agreeing to four-year near-max deals with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets added DeAndre Jordan to a four-year, $40 million contract, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

Jordan, whom Brooklyn was targeting amid its pursuits of two of the top free agents in this year's class, joined the Nets after both Durant and Irving took less than the max deals they could have received, according to Wojnarowski.

Durant could have received a four-year, $164 million deal, while the Nets could max Irving's contract at four years, $141 million.

The long-expected marriage between Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets is almost here.

ESPN reported on Saturday that the Nets will meet with Irving when free agency opens on Sunday night and both sides are 'motivated to move quickly' to agree on a max contract of four years and $141 million. 

The Irving signing means the end of D'Angelo Russell's run in Brooklyn. SNY reported earlier this month that it was highly unlikely that Russell would remain in Brooklyn if Irving signed there. ESPN reported Saturday that Brooklyn is expected to either renounce Russell, which would allow him to become an unrestricted free agent, or execute a sign-and-trade.  

Kevin Durant will reportedly have conversations with four teams when free agency officially begins on Sunday, and both the Knicks and Nets are on his list.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Durant will engage with the Nets, Knicks, Clippers, and Warriors when free agency begins. SNY Insider Ian Begley has confirmed that the Knicks expect to have an audience with Durant, while also noting that it's unclear if they will land a meeting with Kawhi Leonard.

Sources told Begley earlier on Friday that the Nets are not the favorites to sign Durant, which had become a prevalent thought in recent days.

The Nets have reportedly made the expected move of extending D'Angelo Russell a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Friday that the Nets have extended the offer to Russell, meaning that they'll have the right to match any offers the point guard receives.

The Nets could choose to eventually renounce the offer, should they land coveted six-time All-Star Kyrie Irving.

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The Brooklyn Nets have nearly enough cap space for two max players. So we know they are going to be hunting for top free agents in a couple of days. They have a strong core of young players and are coming off of a season in which they increased their win total by 14 games and made the playoffs. So it seems logical that they'd be a strong suitor for some of the top free agents.

But besides their recent on-court success, there's another element in Brooklyn that could be attractive to potential free agents: their medical and performance staff.

Here's how Nets veteran Jared Dudley described the medical staff shortly after the season:

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There have been some strong suggestions on television and radio recently that the Brooklyn Nets are the front runners for Kevin Durant.

But that notion is not accurate. Sources familiar with the matter told SNY that the Nets are not the front runners or favorites to sign Durant at the moment.

Durant, according to The Athletic, has not yet decided if he'll meet with teams when free agency starts on Sunday night. But if he does, those meetings will take place in New York, according to the website.

It appears that the Lakers have interest in bringing back D'Angelo Russell, the player they drafted second overall in the 2015 NBA Draft.

According to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Lakers have 'serious interest' in the All-Star point guard. Charania cites the Lakers' familiarity with Russell as one of the main reasons they'd be interested in a re-union with him. 

Russell has steadily improved his game in each of his four NBA seasons, earning his first All-Star selection in 2018-19 when he averaged 21.1 points, 7.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game.

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Something that could impact the Knicks and Nets: Multiple teams have expressed interest in pairing Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler together in free agency this summer, per league sources familiar with the matter.

Those teams, obviously, would need to create the cap space required to sign both players. The teams interested in Butler and Leonard believe they would have interest in playing on the same team, per league sources.

This doesn't suggest that Leonard is seeking to team up with any other player; that doesn't fit his persona. But teams interested in pairing Leonard and Butler believe they would have interest in playing together.

Kevin Durant is officially a free agent, as ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski says he has declined his $31.5 million option to return to the Warriors next season. 

Before Durant's Achilles injury, this move was basically 100 percent going to happen. But there was the thought that he might want to opt back into his deal with Golden State following his surgery, and then hit the market next season. 

However, Woj added that opting in would be Durant's "last resorts, as teams have still shown tremendous interest in arguably the best player in the league, even though he is likely out all of next season. SNY's Ian Begley has been reporting the Knicks believe they are among the desired teams in Durant's camp...

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At his introductory press conference on Monday, new Net Nicolas Claxton left no doubt that he can fit well with Brooklyn center Jarrett Allen.

"I think that me and him, on the same court, will able to be extremely disruptive, especially on the defensive end," Claxton, the 6-foot-11 big from Georgia selected 31st overall by Brooklyn, told reporters on Monday.

With free agency less than a week away from kicking off in the NBA, the Nets have been closely related with some of the top players on the market, including Kawhi Leonard. 

According to the latest odds released by Odds Shark, Brooklyn has fell down the list of teams. 

The Nets had the third-best chances (+650) at the beginning of the month, but that has changed. Now the Nets are fifth on the list at +1600. Here's how the odds shake out...

The NBA draft was further proof that the Nets are going for the big prize this upcoming summer: max free agents.

After trading Allen Crabbe, the No. 17 pick and their 2020 first-rounder, GM Sean Marks then traded the No. 27 pick to the Clippers for the rights to their first-rounder next year and the No. 56 pick.

What that did is free up further cap space leading into free agency in order to land top free agents, namely Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

The Los Angeles Clippers, selecting for the Nets in a proposed trade, took PG Jaylen Hands from UCLA with the No. 56 pick in the NBA Draft Thursday night. 

Hands joins the Nets via the Clippers after Brooklyn traded its 27th overall pick to Los Angeles earlier in the draft. 

The 19-year-old showed significant improvement his sophomore season at UCLA, leading the Pac-12 in assists (201) and assists per game (6.1) and was second-team All Pac-12. 

With the No. 31 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the Nets selected Georgia F Nicolas Claxton. 

Brooklyn had the No. 27 pick in the Draft, but they traded it away to the Clippers for their No. 56 pick and a 2020 first-rounder. In doing so, the Nets created a little more cap space -- around $2 million -- to use for their free agency pursuits this summer. 

The Nets initially put the No. 31 pick on the trade block, but they're going to keep Claxton, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Brooklyn is supposedly impressed by what Claxton has done with the Bulldogs. 

Instead of using their pick at No. 27 overall, the Nets traded away their selection to the Clippers. 

Brooklyn selected for Los Angeles, taking Florida State C Mfiondu Kabangele. In exchange, the Nets will receive the Clippers' No. 56 overall pick in this draft as well as their 2020 first-round via the 76ers, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Why would the Nets trade away their pick, especially with a player like Bol Bol still on the board? Cap space. 

Brooklyn was among several teams to attend a private workout for Oregon big man Bol Bol before the NBA Draft. The Nets have the 27th and 31st picks in the first round. Bol Bol is projected to be selected of those two picks.

The Nets have expressed an interest in finding a big who can complement Jarrett Allen in the draft, as SNY previously reported.

Some members of the organization were impressed by Terence Davis' recent workout with the club. Davis has caught the eye of several teams during workouts, which is impressive considering he wasn't invited to the original NBA Draft Combine, and earned an invite via the G League version of the Combine.

Despite the infamous Celtics trade that trickled into Sean Marks' start as GM, the Brooklyn Nets have made the most of their late picks in recent years.

In 2016, they traded Thaddeus Young to the Pacers for the 20th pick, who would become Caris LeVert. The Bojan Bogdanovic/Chris McCullough trade in 2017 turned into Jarrett Allen, drafted 22nd overall. Both are now franchise rising stars.

This year, the Nets own the Nos. 27 and 31 overall picks. Perhaps they package them together in an effort to move up. Maybe they take the European route, like they did last year when they selected Dzanan Musa of Bosnia and Rodions Kurucs of Latvia.

The Nets have been considered the favorites to add Kyrie Irving this summer, but could there be a change of plans?

According to a report from Brian Lewis of the New York Post, the Nets may now be unsure of adding Irving if he can't bring Kevin Durant with him.

The Nets' preferred scenario, according to Lewis, is to pair the two superstars together in Brooklyn.

It has been known for awhile now that the Nets may benefit from one Celtics departure in Kyrie Irving this summer. But will he be joined by another? 

Al Horford, the five-time All-Star center, is reportedly no longer discussing an extension with Boston and will hit the market looking for another team. According to the Boston Herald's Steve Bulpett, Horford is expecting to sign a four-year deal elsewhere. 

And as for potential landing spots for the veteran, NBC Sports Boston's A. Sherrod Blakely says to look out for the Nets. 

Al Horford is reportedly set to hit the free agent market.

The five-time All-Star will decline his $30 million option with the Celtics, and though there had previously been a thought that Horford would return to the Celtics on a more team-friendly deal, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald is now reporting that Horford will look elsewhere, likely for a four-year contract.

The Nets non-tendered forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, making him an unrestricted free agent and clearing more cap space ahead of free agency, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Brooklyn did not give the 24-year-old Hollis-Jefferson a qualifying offer, which according to Yahoo! Sports' Keith Smith gives the Nets approximately $47.4 million in salary cap space.

That number, according to Smith, would increase to $67.5 million if they don't retain restricted free agent D'Angelo Russell.

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As of late this week, teams interested in pursuing Kyrie Irving remained under the impression that the Nets were the odds-on favorite to land the point guard, per sources. But no team interested in Irving, including the Knicks and Lakers, had been led to believe that they are out of the running to sign him, those sources say.

If Irving ends up signing in Brooklyn, it may have an interesting ripple effect on the roster, particularly D'Angelo Russell.

Russell, a restricted free agent, will likely draw significant interest on the open market. The 23year-old is coming off of an All-Star season in which he helped lead Brooklyn to the playoffs. Members of the Pacers organization are high on Russell, SNY sources confirm.