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Jack Ma, one of China’s richest and most famous businessmen as the founder of Alibaba, is joining the Liberty’s list of investors, along with five women, an eclectic group of fund managers, a supermodel and the daughters of two top American sportsmen, the Liberty announced on Tuesday.
Between a new hands-on role running Alibaba, buying a share of the Dolphins, and jetting back and forth from China, it’s a busy time for their owner. But Joe Tsai reiterated his priority in Brooklyn is championships, not cash. And when asked if he was interested in buying an NFL team, he replied no because he’s still focused on building the NBA franchise he already has into a winner. “No, I still don’t feel like I’m an NFL owner,” said Tsai, who has a three percent stake in the Dolphins. “I’ve got to take care of the Brooklyn Nets first, which means you need to win first in the sport that you’re already involved in. So you’ve got to take care of business here.”
With president-elect Donald Trump set to be inaugurated Monday and vowing to impose tariffs on Chinese exports, Nets owner Joe Tsai— who is the chairman and co-founder of Chinese giant Alibaba — weighed in. “Right now, this is, I could say definitively, the most unfriendly geopolitical environment that we’ve been in,” Tsai said this week at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong. “As a Chinese company, if we want to do business in the U.S., we’re gonna get hit by whatever it may be, [including] tariffs.”
Executives of the Brooklyn Nets and its parent company, BSE Global, will privately tell you that they believe rising tensions between the U.S. and China are unlikely to effect things with the NBA or WNBA teams owned by Joe and Clara Wu Tsai ... even with President Donald Trump preparing to impose tariffs on Chinese exports once he’s inaugurated Monday. Neither Tsai is a citizen of China, they note. Joe Tsai, who was born in Taiwan, is a citizen of Canada having moved there as a child before attending high school, college and law school in the United States. Clara Wu Tsai, co-owner of the Nets, co-governor of the New York Liberty, is an American citizen born in Kansas. That said, Tsai is the executive chairman of Alibaba, the giant Chinese e-commerce company, and he and his wife have a vast array of connections — through business, sports, culture and philanthropy — that span the countries’ relations and he often comments on relations between the two countries. (Tsai’s sports entities are held separately from Alibaba, being part of his family investment office.)
They’ll have four in June’s exceptionally deep draft. It’s a far cry from when Marks took over in 2016 with no picks and had to take salary dumps. “When we started out here eight years ago, the hand we were dealt, we were handcuffed. There was only a couple … really one way of building, whereas now we’ve got a few more,” Marks told The Post. “We’ve got these draft assets that you can obviously pick them, you can trade them, you can move them around. We’ve got the room. And ultimately, we’ve got two things: We’ve got a market that’s going to be attractive, and we’ve got Joe [Tsai] as an owner that’s proved that at the right time, he’ll go all-in, and he’s not afraid to say it and do it. “In this CBA, that speaks volumes. When there’s a lot of other places that are like, ‘Oh my gosh, the penalties! How do I get out of this thing?’ But the ultimate goal here is at some point to be able to say, ‘Hey, we’re contending for a championship.’ That’s what every team wants to be able to build up to do that. And hopefully with the flexibility that we’ve got and we’ll have an opportunity to do that at some point. When that is, I couldn’t answer.”
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Nets owner a fan of Cam Thomas
While any Net is technically considered available, given the early rebuilding stage the franchise is embarking on, it’s worth noting league sources told HoopsHype owner Joe Tsai is a fan of Thomas. Coach Fernandez has also lauded his scoring “superpowers” in press conferences.
Nets Daily: Barclays Center celebrity row Sunday: NBA’s Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Devin Booker, Thompson twins, Derrick Lively II; Hall of Famer Dawn Staley, UConn’s Azzi Fudd & Paige Bueckers, gymnast Jordan Chiles, boxer Claressa Shields, TV host Tamron Hall and owners Joe & Clara Tsai!
Nets Daily: Nothing new on Nets signing of Jacky Cui, but in recent video, Joe Tsai told fans any Chinese player must be NBA-ready. “If I bring in a Chinese player, it's meaningless if he doesn’t have the ability ... If he can’t play, I'll be criticized. If he can, it'll be meaningful.”
Nets Daily: Julia Koch and her hoops-loving son, David Koch Jr were with Joe Tsai at Commissioner's Cup game last night to watch Liberty, 24 hours after being approved as minority owners. Bet they're on hand tonight at Barclays Center. also part of the deal.
Brian Lewis: Joe Tsai had paid roughly $3.3 billion for the teams and the arena in stages, and sold these shares at a valuation of $6B. A source confirmed to the Post that Julia Koch and her family won't have a path to control, and she also will not become an alternate governor. #Nets #NBA
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Julia Koch will invest into BSE herself but intends to include her three children into the endeavor. She is the 23rd wealthiest person in the world, according to Forbes, with personal holdings valued at $64.3 billion. She inherited a 42 percent stake in Koch Industries when David died in 2019, according to Forbes. She sits on the board of directors for Koch Industries but her public profile has been muted.
Billionaire Julia Koch and her family have agreed to purchase 15% of BSE Global, which is controlled by Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, at that valuation, according to the memo, a copy of which was viewed by Sportico. The NBA’s advisory finance committee has reviewed the transaction and recommended that it be be approved by league governors, who must vote by June 24.
Celtics minority owner Stephen Pagliuca was nearly the controlling owner of the Nets, a seismic move that could’ve impacted both Brooklyn and Boston. Pagliuca — born in New York and raised in New Jersey — almost teamed up with Joe Tsai to buy the Nets from Russian oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov in 2017. “I was honored to be contacted by the Nets in 2017 to look at the club,” Pagliuca told The Post on Tuesday, “but decided after a review that my heart was with the Celtics and subsequently invested more capital in the Celtics franchise and also in the Italian Serie A soccer team Atalanta.”
Nets Daily: Joe Tsai says don’t expect an NBA China tour “Due to geopolitical situation right now it would be very difficult to bring the NBA to mainland China. But in due course I hope to see a China tour because what that reflects is a more benign relationship.” youtu.be/8znIj2ML_Vo
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