Report: NBA approves deal to make Prokhorov sole owner of Nets, arena

The NBA has approved the deal that would transfer full ownership of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center to Mikhail Prokhorov, according to a source of Bloomberg News' Scott Soshnick.

According to Soshnick, the valuation of the Nets and the team's arena is $1.9 billion.

The deal between Prokhorov and real estate developer Bruce Ratner's Forest City Enterprises Inc. was first reported earlier this month, pending NBA approval.

Prokhorov, who purchased his majority share of the Nets in 2010 and helped move the team to Brooklyn in 2012, owned 80 percent of the team and 45 percent of Barclays Center before striking this reported deal with Ratner.

Based on previous reports that Prokhorov was looking to sell the Nets, taking sole ownership could be seen as the first step to eventually selling the franchise.

While the New York-based team and arena hold obvious value off the court, the franchise has become quite the mess on the court under Prokhorov's and general manager Billy King's watch. At 7-17, the Nets boast the league's fourth-worst record, are devoid of much young talent, and don't control their own first-round draft pick until 2019.