New Jersey Nets Hire Billy King as GM: Is Mikhail Prokhorov Confused?

It's a well-known fact that throughout the world certain countries receive U.S. imports later than others. There are still some countries that have not yet received Michael Jackson's Thriller, countries full of Members Only jackets and Jordache jeans.

I never thought it would be the world power of Russia, but from what I can gather their sports news is around five years late. How else can you rationalize hiring former Sixers GM Billy King to run your franchise?

Mikhail Prokhorov, I understand you're still mad you didn't get a sniff during "The Decision," but there is no need to give up already. Avery Johnson was a smart pick as a coach, but Billy King as GM...not too much. I think Bill Simmons summed it up best:

If the Russian billionaire wants to make the Nets a contender in five years, as he stated when he bought the team, moves like this won't expedite that. They have already made some questionable front office decisions.

First, they signed Travis Outlaw to a five-year, $35 million deal. Then they picked up Jordan Farmar and John Petro as their top free-agent acquisitions.

Either Prokhorov doesn't understand the U.S.-Russian changeover rate, or this guy is treating this like a fantasy team. Either way you look at it, for a team that went 12-70, none of these moves seem like signs of improvement.

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