it's been a tough year or so for the Russians who own the Nets, what with all the losses, on the court and in the balance sheets. Not to mention the bad press and the bad relations between Russia and the U.S. over Ukraine. Ugh.
But they haven't lost their sense of humor, or it seems, their love of the team that's costing them a not insignificant measure of their treasure.
Sergey Kushchenko is an old friend of Mikhail Prokhorov's, the president of CSKA Moscow when they won two Euroleague titles and countless Russian league titles.