Kirilenko wanted a three-year deal with a minimum of $8 million per season, front-office executives said. Several teams, including the San Antonio Spurs, pursued Kirilenko with sign-and-trade discussions with Minnesota only nothing could get done. Kirilenko has history with Deron Williams, the Nets star. They played together for five years in Utah. Most of all, Kirilenko has history with Prokhorov. The billionaire owned CSKA Moscow, and Kirilenko played for him there, too.
The Nets pursued Kyle Korver with its $3.1 million exception to start free agency, but he re-signed with Atlanta. Eventually, Kirilenko and the Nets were left shopping, and a deal was consummated on Thursday.
Brooklyn gets a strong, athletic defender to pursue James and Dwyane Wade in the playoffs, one more willing passer and scorer. For the Nets, too, they get the scorn of the sport now. Everyone can suggest it was easy to construct this roster with no financial limitations, but, rest assured, everyone couldn’t have done what Prokhorov and King have done with these Nets – whatever everyone thinks. Brooklyn has arrived with suspicions and charges and jealousies, arrived in unmistakable and unprecedented noise. Here are the Nets now: From Russia, with loathe.
Article Appeared @http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba–nets–deal-with-andrei-kirilenko-raises-suspicions-from-nba-rivals-180604173.html