Mikhail Prokhorov has backed up his words with his wallet.
If anyone was wondering whether the Russian billionaire owner of the Nets was committed to trying to compete for a championship, it's impossible to question him after he empowered general manager Billy King to pull off Thursday night's massive blockbuster trade which brought future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, along with Jason Terry, to Brooklyn.
It's just the latest move in the massive transformation the franchise has undergone over the past 12 months, a makeover which has seen the Nets go from an NBA afterthought in their final season in New Jersey to having a potential starting lineup with a combined 35 All-Star Game appearances. It's a lineup ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy thinks, right now, is as good as any in the NBA.
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RUSSIAN ROULETTE: With the additions of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to a Nets squad already filled with talent such as Deron Williams, owner Mikhail Prokhorov is sparing no expense chasing a title.
"I think, for the short term, the Nets certainly have the best starting lineup talent-wise in the NBA," Van Gundy said in an interview on ESPN 98.7 FM yesterday.
Not only does the trade provide the Nets toughness and leadership, it also will mean Prokhorov is set to commit a great deal of money to put this group on the floor next season.
After the moves the Nets made yesterday, their payroll already sits north of $95 million. Assuming the Nets use their mini mid-level exception, which starts at $3.183 million, and fill out their roster with players who sign for the veteran's minimum, their payroll will exceed $100 million.
Under the restrictive luxury tax penalties in the new collective bargaining agreement, the Nets will be facing a luxury tax bill next year of about $80 million. To put that in perspective, only four teams — the Lakers, Nets, Heat and Knicks — had a payroll of $80 million or more last season.
It's also a sign Prokhorov is willing to do whatever it takes to pursue a championship — including dipping into his personal fortune to pay his players — something many other NBA owners have proved unwilling to do.
"I give the ownership of the Nets a lot of credit, because we always hear about luxury taxes and how they can't afford to go over the luxury tax," Van Gundy said. "We often hear the word 'can't' be interjected where the word 'won't' is more descriptive.
"In this case, the Nets ownership put personnel for their team way ahead of profits. And, if you're a fan, you have to understand how rare that is and you have to be excited about the opportunity. Now, if this turns out to be a championship run or not, you have to be excited about an ownership that will put the personnel of a team ahead of the profits of that same team."
That, combined with the fact the Nets shipped out three first-round picks over the next five years in the deal — one each in 2014, 2016 and 2018 — as well as their final significant trade chip in Kris Humphries' $12 million expiring deal, makes it clear this is the move they hope will allow them build on their successful debut season in Brooklyn.
After winning 49 games and finishing with the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference last season, the Nets hope the combination of Pierce, Garnett and Terry — combined with moves in free agency — will allow them to do what Prokhorov has set out to do from the moment he bought the team: compete for a championship.
tbontemps@nypost.com
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