When Mikhail Prokhorov met with the New York media the day about he dumped Lionel Hollins and Billy King, he sat alone behind a simple table, dour and intense. No opening statement, he went straight to questions. It was the optics of accountability.
Friday night, when Sean Marks was introduced, he was seated next to Dmitry Razumov, the Nets chairman and self-described "man behind the scenes." There were smiles everywhere and both men gave optimistic opening statements. Call it the optics of partnership.
The relationship between ownership and management has been a theme of late, escalating since the "staff changes.