Russian Billlionaire to Buy Nets?

The faltering economy has proven to be a major stumbling block in Bruce Ratner's attempts to move the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn. But it sounds like he'll be getting some help -- from a partner with exceptionally deep pockets.

Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov confirmed rumors that he's interested in funding the Nets' move and Ratner's much-maligned Atlantic Yards development to the tune of $700 million. (Prokhorov made the announcement on his personal blog -- which is published in Russian. That link will take you to a version of the post, translated to English using Google Translate... but all the usual caveats about machine translation apply.)

As part of the deal, Prokhorov would assume a controlling interest in the team, the New York Daily News reports.

Prokhorov is worth a reported $9.5 billion, and was recently ranked #40 on Forbes magazine's list of the world's billionaires.