So far, nobody's buying.

But according to numerous officials throughout the organization, Ratner may soon find someone to help alleviate the team's crushing debt load and facilitate the construction of the Atlantic Yards project, and the candidates range from the former CEO of Yahoo to a billionaire industrialist from Russia -- each of whom would still move the team from New Jersey.

"I would be surprised if it doesn't

happen fairly soon," said a high-ranking Nets official, who requested anonymity so as not to jeopardize Ratner's plans. "Bruce has looked into several options. He's had offers, he's made counteroffers, and at some point in time -- probably by the time the season gets under way -- something will transpire."

To what degree Ratner needs help is uncertain, even to some of the team's own investors. One who is admittedly skittish over the team's annual losses and the dubious plans for Brooklyn, said earlier this week that Ratner needs "significant" financial assistance to keep the team afloat.

"We all know he's looking to raise capital, and it is our understanding that he is looking to sell management partnership in the team," said the investor, one of scores of people who own a small percentage of the Nets . "It could be a complete sell-off, but undoubtedly Bruce wants to stay active in the team for the move to Brooklyn."

Ratner refused comment through a spokesman for Forest City Enterprises, but his activities of late cannot disguise his intentions. As recently as last week, he flew to Moscow to meet face-to-face with the aforementioned billionaire, Mikhail Prokhorov, who is not unfamiliar with the Basketball business, as he is a chief financier for CSKA Moscow.

But Prokhorov is not the only potential investor.

The most viable candidate -- according to people on both the New Jersey and Brooklyn sides of the Nets' organization -- is Terry Semel, the former CEO of Yahoo and Warner Bros, and a Brooklyn native.

Other candidates are current investors in the team whose interests are presently estimated at a 2 percent share. They are Vinny Viola and Marc Lasry, two commodities traders who were once in partnership for this venture, but have purportedly splintered.

And as of late last week, a fourth candidate was Jeff Feinberg of JLF Asset Management, a hedge fund in Del Mar, Calif., with considerable interests in China, but his candidacy seems to have waned.

None of these potential investors returned calls soliciting comment.

Newark mayor Cory Booker has said he would like to see the Nets move to Newark and play in the Prudential Center, even predicting in May that he expected a sale of the team and the collapse of the Atlantic Yards project. But Ratner is said to only be interested in a partnership with investors committed to the Brooklyn move.

Ratner's highest officials, for their part, haven't denied that he's shopping for help. As recently as last week, Nets CEO Brett Yormark issued this statement after an interview request.

"As we have said before, we have received interest from potential investors in the team," Yormark said through a publicist. "That interest is growing, as it is clear that we are moving to Brooklyn. Our ownership group is as committed as ever to the success of the Nets and to the Barclays Center."

But employees and investors alike are getting wary over Ratner's stewardship, and there has been a significant drop in morale within the Basketball and business sides of the operation.

On the business side, more than 20 employees have been laid off since last September. And even though the Nets' player payroll is one of the eight lowest in the NBA, the Basketball side required that four members of its coaching staff take huge pay cuts last week. One assistant, Roy Rogers -- whose $100,000 salary was slashed by roughly $20,000, according to a Basketball official familiar with the team's pay scale -- is considering a move to Rutgers, where he would earn a higher wage than last year.

A former employee, who requested anonymity so that he could speak candidly, put it this way: "They've really created an environment where you don't want to stay there anymore. It's gotten really bad, especially for those of us who have gone through five owners in 10 years. It's just so damn bleak."

Team president Rod Thorn, while conceding that times are tough, insists that his team is no different from others.

"The work environment has changed in every business, even if you just go by what you read and observe," Thorn said. "There are cutbacks everywhere -- jobs redefined, personnel shifts. So you can't say the NBA is different from other businesses."

Ratner's business, however, is very different from every other NBA enterprise.

He was, after all, the man who built the first office tower in Brooklyn in a quarter century, developing a new downtown in a downtrodden area. Even the ambitious nature of Atlantic Yards was laudable: Along with a new arena and office space, Ratner planned to have 2,250 "affordable" rental units, and though the meaning of that term was vigoriously debated ("one of the great weasel words of modern marketing," proclaimed New York magazine, a Ratner critic), the number was not insignificant.

But that part of the plan illustrates his tendency to overreach in the horrendous economic

climate: Forest City now admits that only 450 "affordable" units would be completed in phase one of the project, which could take as long as 2014 to complete under a modified plan.

The Basketball team, meanwhile, is more insignificant than at any time in the last decade, even dropping 13 percent in value (to $295 million) in the past year, according to Forbes Magazine. The Nets traded away their primary star, Vince Carter, for salary cap space that it may never use.

Even a statement from Yormark on that subject sounded less than enthusiastic: "We are not going to comment on our specific plans. But if an opportunity presents itself for us to improve our team, and if it makes sense for us, we will pursue it."

Dave D'Alessandro may be reached at ddalessandro@starledger.com