Report: Mikhail Prokhorov listening to offers for Nets in wake of Clippers sale

Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is listening to initial offers from potential buyers for the Brooklyn Nets in wake of the Los Angeles Clippers selling for a league-record $2 billion, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

"Just listening so far," a league official with direct knowledge told Yahoo Sports. "They haven't indicated a desire or willingness to sell. …Nothing was initiated by [Prokhorov]."

The report goes on to say that Prokhorov's willingness to hear from potential suitors stems from his company's curiosity of the value of his ownership share in the Nets and the Barclays Center, and what return it would draw on the open market.

After the Sterling Family Trust was able to broker a deal with Steve Ballmer to sell the Clippers for $2 billion, Prokhorov and his business partners believe the Nets and the Barclays Center could combine to net a return somewhere in that neighborhood, given their location in a major market.

Prokhorov owns 80 percent of the Nets and 45 percent of the Barclays Center. He purchased his ownership stake for $223 million in May of 2010.

The New York Islanders will become a tenant of the Barclays Center beginning in 2015-16.

Prokhrov denied the report through a spokesperson Saturday, via ESPN.

"We have no interest in selling the team," Prokhorov said.

In Prokhorov's time as owner of the team, the Nets' payroll has reached record levels, including a combined $190 million in salary and luxury tax for the 2013-14 season.