Brooklyn Nets: Jay-Z Must Continue To Assert Himself as Team Prepares for Move

Jay-Z is New York City.

He always sports the legendary NY Yankees ball cap, has entire songs about the city and is one of the most iconic figures in the most famous city in the world.

That’s why it’s imperative for the part owner of the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets to continue to be at the forefront of the franchise's big move.

On Monday he announced to the world that the franchise would be keeping their nickname when they move to Brooklyn as he stood by the construction site for the yet-to-be-finished Barclays Center. It was an obvious choice, but there were still plenty of fans and media attention there to get a chance to see the rap mogul.

This was a great way to stir up fan interest about something basketball related in the middle of an ugly lockout, and won’t be happening for another year.

That’s what star power does.

Jay-Z, aka Shawn Carter, will also have his say on the new uniforms that will be released. He will be dealing with Adidas in creating a logo that features Brooklyn prominently as the franchise wants to tap into the borough’s brand identity.

Are you more likely to buy Nets apparel knowing Jay-Z helped design it?

I would dare say plenty of New Yorkers are nodding their heads in agreement.

Another brilliant move is opening up the Barclays Center with up to three concerts by Jay-Z. What better way to show off the new arena than with the most famous rapper of all time?

Majority owner and Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov needs to keep his part owner in the spotlight. That’s what people want and that’s how you generate excitement and revenue to a franchise that is currently as stale as month-old bread.

Jay-Z is the key to getting big-name free agents into town (who doesn’t want to party with a guy that has his own sheik club) and can single-handedly alter the fortunes of this franchise.

It’s an exciting time for the Nets—too bad they can’t hit the fast-forward button to next year.