Nets owner Joe Tsai calls Knicks championship ‘embarrassing’

Nets governor Joe Tsai isn’t pretending he enjoyed watching the Knicks win an NBA championship.

In fact, he used a stronger word for it: embarrassing.

Speaking to NetsDaily, Tsai acknowledged that watching Brooklyn’s cross-town rival capture the title in June wasn’t exactly an enjoyable experience for the Nets or their fans.

“Every year, some team is going to win a championship,” Tsai said. “So it happens that this year that team is in the same city. It doesn’t make us feel very good. It irritates our fan base and it is embarrassing.”

Still, Tsai said the Knicks’ success won’t cause Brooklyn to abandon its own plan.

“In business or in competition, in sports, or in anything, you shouldn’t let the embarrassment factor affect how you perform,” he said. “We had a plan and we’re rebuilding and I think right now we are on a positive trajectory. So it doesn’t change my thinking at all.”

General manager Sean Marks offered much the same message.

“We’re not going to be motivated or less motivated by what somebody else is doing,” Marks told NetsDaily.

Instead, Marks said the Nets remain focused on their own path and the development taking place under coach Jordi Fernandez.

That’s probably the sensible approach. The Knicks just provided Brooklyn with a rather painful reminder of how far it still has to go, but trying to accelerate a rebuild simply because the neighbors are holding the trophy isn’t much of a plan.

Tsai may not have enjoyed it. He’s apparently not going to let the embarrassment change what comes next.