Mikhail Prokhorov image from Wikimedia.

What would you do if you had billions of dollars? If you were Mikhail Prokhorov, you’d buy a basketball team — or at least most of one. New York Daily News confirms that Mikhail Prokhorov, who is worth more than $9 billion, will become the new majority owner of the Nets early next year.

The New Jersey Nets will become the Brooklyn Nets, adding yet another professional basketball franchise to the New York roster. Mikhail Prokhorov will take over 80 percent ownership of the team.

Countdown to Brooklyn base

Thanks to Mikhail Prokhorov’s billions, the team won’t be needing any unsecured loans in order to move to its “state-of-the-art facility in Brooklyn, with its rich sports heritage,” said a press release from NBA Commissioner David Stern.

But the Nets are not moving right away. Though Mikhail Prokhorov will take over majority ownership of the team in early 2010, the Nets will not move to Brooklyn until the 2011-2012 season. The move might happen before or during season league play.

Nets’ new ownership

Though Mikhail Prokhorov will be majority shareholder for the Nets, the NBA franchise’s current owner, Bruce Ratner, will still have some ownership of the team.

“We are one step closer to achieving our goals of creating much needed jobs and economic development for Brooklyn and the city,” Ratner said in the NBA press release.

Of course, this also means an economic loss for New Jersey. It also likely means we will soon be hearing from a lot of Nets fans from New Jersey who don’t want to see their team relocate. But business is business, right?

More on Mikhail

Prokhorov is the richest person in Russia, and the 40th richest person in the world. He paid $700 million to acquire majority ownership of the Nets. Mikhail Prokhorov is a self-made billionaire, and he runs the $17 billion investment fund Onexim Group.

Thus far, his investments have mostly focused on development of nanotechnology, including hydrogen fuel cells, as well as other high-technology projects and non-ferrous and precious metals mining. His acquisition of the Nets marks his first foray into American sports, and he will also be acquiring 45 percent ownership in the Atlantic Yards project.

“Interest in basketball and the NBA is growing rapidly on a global basis and we are especially encouraged by Mr. Prokhorov’s commitment to the Nets and the opportunity it presents to continue the growth of basketball in Russia,” Stern said.

Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks

Sure, any basketball fan has heard of, or possibly been involved in, the argument about WNBA salaries. Should WNBA players should be paid as much as NBA players? Or at least more than they get paid now?

But, it’s draft season, so I say we get the debate going again.

First things first

Just so you know what were talking about, here are the critical facts for comparison:

• Minimum salary for 3-year WNBA player: $51,000
• Salary cap for WNBA team: $803,000 per team
• Minimum salary for 3-year NBA player: $826,269
• Salary cap for NBA player: What salary cap?

OK, so really the salary cap for the NBA is $59 million per team, but it’s a “soft cap,” meaning “there are several significant exceptions that allow teams to exceed the salary cap to sign players,” according to Wikipedia.

Payment on principal?

So, let’s talk WNBA salaries. Getting paid $51,000 to play basketball for a season is nothing to sneeze at. I’d be sitting pretty if I made that much. It’s not like these women are going to need payday loans for groceries like us commonfolk.

The debate on the subject revolves around the principal of the thing. Equal pay for equal work has been an issue in this country since women joined the workforce.

Shake your moneymaker

Of course, we all know where this is going. The players, both NBA and WNBA, are paid according to how much money the franchise/sport/organization — whatever you want to call it — brings in.

Furthermore, the WNBA does not actually “bring in” any money, per se. One online commenter at “Simon on Sports” says: “the only reason that the WNBA even survives is because it seeps money off of the NBA.”

The NBA subsidizes the WNBA to the tune of about $12 million per year.

There’s your trouble

I have heard few people argue that WNBA players should make the same salaries as NBA players. There is  a small sprinkling of people out there who believe the WNBA players should get equal pay because they are doing the same job. But those are few and far between.

Most people agree that the NBA is the moneymaker, and the players are paid accordingly. NBA players get paid tons of money because their games bring in tons of money. WNBA players get paid less because the WNBA, as a business, is not profitable. What seems to be at the root of the contention is that the gap in pay is so huge.

‘Fun with math’

Stephon Marbury

Yes, you read my little bullet list right: The salary cap in an entire team in the WNBA is lower than the minimum salary for a single player that’s been in the NBA three years. This seems to be what’s causing the trouble.

One sports blogger put it this way:

“Now Let’s Have Some Fun with Math. Stephon Marbury makes $22 million this season. The WNBA has 13 teams. 13 times $803,000 is $10.5 million. That’s half as much as Marbury is making for doing absolutely nothing.”

Read up on Stephon Marbury here.

Share your opinion

Some say WNBA players are underpaid. Some say NBA players are overpaid. Some say the disparity is just too big. What do you say?

Even Michael Has a Secret

Everyone has skeletons in their closet, but if you need payday loans and bad credit repair you can’t afford to keep your credit history a secret. Most people struggle to keep their regrets locked up—out of sight and out of mind. It’s easier to keep your past a secret when your actions don’t directly affect your every day life. Unfortunately, your financial history is not something you can cover up because your credit score is important for a number of things like applying for a credit card, buying a car, and getting a home loan.

Michael Jordan’s Secret is Out

Michael Jordan is arguably one of the best basketball players to ever grace the basketball court and is probably someone who will never need payday loans. Jordan has received a myriad of awards including five MVP awards, three All-Star MVP awards, ten scoring titles, and six NBA Finals MVP awards, to name a few. Jordan also holds several NBA regular season and playoff records. Michael Jordan was so good that he continued to put on basketball camps after he concluded his NBA career with the Washington Wizards. However, what you didn’t know is that Jordan wasn’t good enough to beat John Rogers Jr., a camp attendee at Jordan’s 2003 “Flight School” basketball camp in Las Vegas. Rogers’ victory over Jordan was captured on tape, inevitably destroying any chance of keeping Jordan’s defeat a secret.

Time Machine

You’ve probably spent countless hours lying awake in your bed, staring at the ceiling and reflecting on your past actions. The “what if’s” are inescapable. What if you had done this or what if you hadn’t said that? You’ve probably even imagined a magical time machine in which you could travel back in time to take back some of the things you’ve said and things you’ve done. Then you float back down to reality where there is no magical time machine. Sometimes you don’t even realize that what you’re doing can harm your future, but all actions come with consequences. People make mistakes all the time, and those actions can’t be reversed.

Learn From Your Mistakes

You can’t undo the mistakes you’ve made, but you can learn from your mistakes. In fact, your mistakes are one of the best learning tools in life. Starting in childhood, behavior is shaped by trial-and-error events. You know not to touch the stove-top because you have a scar on your hand to prove that it’s hot. You know not to speed on the freeway because of that outrageous ticket you got just two days after getting your first driver’s license. The trial-and-error never ends, which means you can always learn from your mistakes.

Steps to a Bright Financial Future

Unfortunately, when it comes to money mistakes, the world is a little less forgiving. Instead of a scar on your hand or a blemish on your driving record, your credit score takes a beating. It doesn’t take much for you to damage your credit score. A couple late payments, numerous payday loans out, a trip to the collections office, or an outstanding bill, and you could be looking at bad credit. Having good credit is so important, especially now that the lending industry is facing stricter regulations. You may not be able to take back your money mistakes, but you can learn from those mistakes and take steps to improve your credit score. Getting bad credit repair help is one of the first steps you should take if you want to up your credit score and brighten your financial future.