The Brooklyn Nets have officially ended their ties with point guard Kyrie Irving as the star is being exchanged with Dallas Mavericks for players Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, and a few other draft picks. The decision to exchange the player with Mavericks is inviting all sorts of reactions from their fans.
While the exchange of the player and the past events that led to it are being discussed actively on every platform, an NBA insider has now reported that Joe Tsai, the owner of the Brooklyn Nets did not want to do any favor to Irving by sending him to his ‘preferred team.
The formation was relieved by Marc Stein, who announced the news through Substack.
According to his statement, The Nets succeeded in meeting one of the main objectives held by Joe Tsai to send Irving somewhere other than his Los Angeles Lakers – his preferred destination.
Even though there was no clear mention of his source or any other official confirmation of the news from any other circles, many people believe that the Nets were on to Irving and were destined not to send him to a team that he preferred.
The development of the recent issues between Irving and the Nets can be seen as one of the major reasons why many people believe this information even though no one confirms it. Earlier this month, the player himself came forward with a request to trade him before the trading deadline.
There had been issues between the player and the team long before his request for trading but it can be assumed that issue started from there. Irving requested the team to trade him almost three months after his suspension from the team.
He was suspended from the team owing to a controversial post he made on the social media platform Twitter.
Irving shared a link to a movie that featured antisemitic tropes on his Twitter handle and he refused to disavow the post, which eventually led to his suspension. Irving missed almost eight games due to his suspension.
The franchise offered Irving a contract worth $136 million but rather than focusing on games and lifting the team up, the fate of the Nets was the exact opposite.
The team was not able to perform well and had been through different controversies, which forced people to believe that the Nets owner Joe Tsai was keen on not doing any favors for the player.
Even though Irving is not fully responsible for all the events, he did have a pivotal role in determining the outcome of the events.
The decision to not send Irving to the Lakers was said to be taken by Joe Tsai, the owner of the Nets as Irving has subtly expressed his desire to be part of the team, where he dreamt of being teamed up with LeBron James.
So, here is everything you need to know about the man who made the ground-breaking decision and saw it through to the end.
Who is Joe Tsai?
Joseph Tsai, the owner of the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA is a Taiwanese – Canadian billionaire businessman, who is also a lawyer and also philanthropist. Tsai is the co-founder and executive vice chairman of the Chinese multinational company Alibaba Group.
Joseph Tsai better known as Joe Tsai is known to many people as a sports enthusiast and he owns some of the best teams in multiple leagues. Tsai is the owner of the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA, the New York Liberty of the WNBA, and also the San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League.
Joe Tsai – Early Life
Joe Tsai is the son of lawyer Paul C. Tsai and his wife Ruby Tsai. Joseph Tsai is the eldest of four kids and was born in January 1964 in China. The Tsai family was one among those families who left China and moved to Taiwan and the communists took over mainland China.
Joe Tsai migrated to the United States at the very young age of 13. Reaching the United States at such a young age, Tsai attended the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. He was interested in sports from a very young age and he was a part of the school’s lacrosse and football team.
After completing his high school education, Tsai enrolled at Yale University, where his father also completed his studies. Tsai was also a member of the university’s lacrosse team for four years. Tsai earned a bachelor’s degree in East Asian Studies from Yale College and also a J.D. from Yale Law School.
Joe Tsai – Professional Career
After completing his education, Tsai decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and took up a career as a lawyer. He joined the Sullivan & Cromwell law firm after his graduation and later in 1991, he was admitted as an attorney to the New York bar. Tsai continued his job as a lawyer for almost three years and he made a change in his career to equity and funds later.
As his first in the field, Tsai joined a small management buyer firm in New York named Rosecliff. Later, Tsai moved back to Hong Kong and joined Investor AB. He took care of Asian private equity investment in the firm.
Joe Tsai was serving in this position at Investor AB when he first met Jack Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba Group. Tsai was so impressed by the idea of the company that he decided to quit his job and invest full-time in their new business.
Among the other founders of the firm, Tsai was the only person who had a western education and he eventually served as the chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and also the founding member of the company.
As Tsai was a person with experience in capital or law, the financial and legal structure of the company was his full responsibility. Currently, Tsai is the second largest shareholder of the company after Jack Ma.
Joe Tsai – Interest In Sports
It was in 2019 that Tsai bought the ownership of the Brooklyn Nets, one of the best teams that play in the National Basketball Association. Tsai purchased a 49% stake in the Nets from Mikhail Prokhorov, a Russian billionaire.
He bought the remaining share of the team in August 2019. He is also the proud owner of the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League and he also bought the WNBA’s New York Liberty.
Being a lacrosse player during his University days, Tsai also supports the game by being the owner of the San Diego Seals and also being the co-owner of the Las Vegas Desert Dogs.
Joe Tsai – Net Worth
Being the co-founder and the executive vice chairman of one of the most successful e-commerce comp-nay in the world, Tsai is estimated to have a net worth of $6.64 billion. The major source of his income is the valuable share that he holds in the Alibaba Group and also the position that he enjoys in the company.
The company is considered to be very successful at what they do and is also reported to make billions in terms of annual turnover. Tsai is also a sports enthusiast and he has invested in some of the best teams in different leagues like the NBA, WNBA, and Major League Soccer.
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Joe Tsai – Personal Life And Family
Joe Tsai is a family man and his family includes his wife and three children. Tsai got married to Clara Ming- Hua Wu, who is the granddaughter of the first elected mayor of Taipei City, Wu San-lien.
Just like her husband, Wu had also attended some of the most prestigious institutions in the United States like Stanford and Harvard Business School. Currently, Wu is an advisor for Taobao, which is an online shopping platform with Alibaba Group as its parent company.
The couple has three kids together from their marriage and they are named Dash Tsai, Jacob Tsai, and Alex Tsai. The couple is known for their involvement in initiatives for the greater good of society and the less fortunate.
Joe Tsai – Awards And Honors
Being a former student of the University and a highly successful businessman who does his best to give back to society, Yale University honored Tsai by rewarding him with the George H.W. Bush ‘48 Lifetime of Leadership Award in 2017.
