Andrei Kirilenko Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Timberwolves Targeting Andrei Kirilenko

July 25th, 2012 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

As we learned last night, having lost out on Nicolas Batum last week, the Timberwolves have shifted their focus to trying to land Russian forward Andrei Kirilenko. The T-Wolves have entered three-way trade talks with the Suns and Hornets in an effort to clear cap space. While that trade has yet to be finalized, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that centerpiece Robin Lopez could be returning soon from a vacation to take a physical for the Hornets.

If the proposed deal goes through, the T-Wolves would be parting ways with former fourth overall pick Wesley Johnson and a future lottery-protected first-round pick. While the move is more about cap space for Minnesota, the team would also acquire a pair of second-round picks from the Hornets, according to Wojnarowski.

With the Timberwolves' deals for Greg Stiemsma, Alexey Shved and Brandon Roy yet to be finalized, it's unclear exactly how much cap space the team currently owns. Based on reported salaries for those three players, I'm guessing the team would have about $3-4MM left over after signing those deals. Removing Johnson's $4.29MM salary from the books as well would allow the T-Wolves to make a competitive offer for Kirilenko, who isn't interested in signing for the veteran's minimum in Brooklyn, according to Wojnarowski.

According to Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Wolves are willing to pay as much as $9MM per season over two years for Kirilenko. While we're not sure if they can go quite that high in year one, any agreement would figure to be in that ballpark — Wojnarowski says Kirilenko is seeking a contract that would pay him "in the vicinity" of $8MM annually.

For his part, Kirilenko has said he wants to decide on his new team before the Olympics begin, so we should get some resolution on the 31-year-old's contract situation in the near future.

Andrei Kirilenko To Return To NBA

July 24th, 2012 at 8:34pm CST by Luke Adams

8:34pm: Several league executives believe the Timberwolves are pursuing Andrei Kirilenko. Kirilenko is no longer considering Brooklyn, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski. The Star Tribune's Jerry Zgoda believes the Wolves may offer Kirilenko a deal somewhere along the lines of two years and $18MM. (Twitter link)

3:39pm: According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the Nets are making a "hard push" to sign Kirilenko, despite only being to offer the veteran's minimum. Stein confirms that the Warriors are also in the hunt for the veteran forward.

12:04pm: The Nets have not been officially informed that Kirilenko won't sign with them, so that possibility still could be alive, says Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).

11:22am: After spending the 2011/12 season overseas, Andrei Kirilenko will return to the NBA, he confirmed today. Kirilenko told Russia's R-Sport (English link via Sportando) that he has informed CSKA Moscow president Andrei Vatutin of his intentions to continue his career in the NBA.

Kirilenko has long been linked to the Nets, in large part due to his friendship with the team's owner, Mikhail Prokhorov. However, a source tells Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link) that Kirilenko is not interested in signing in Brooklyn for the veteran's minimum, which is all the Nets could offer.

If the Nets are out of the running, Kirilenko's NBA destination is a bit of a mystery. There are a few teams with cap space or exceptions left to make the Russian forward a competitive offer, but many of those clubs are non-contenders — it seems unlikely the 31-year-old would make the jump to the NBA unless he were signing with a playoff team.

The Warriors are one team recently reported to have interest in Kirilenko.

Odds & Ends: Maggette, Kirilenko, Harrington

July 21st, 2012 at 7:00pm CST by Daniel Seco

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban spoke about his team's offseason moves during the broadcast of a summer league game on Friday, reports Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Cuban expressed lament over Dallas' inability to sign Deron Williams, but is confident that his roster has a strong young nucleus heading into next season. "… We can keep these guys, let them jell and play together, build around Dirk and have room for hopefully someone to come or to trade or whatever happens." Here's the latest news and happenings from around the league…

Corey Maggette says he's ready to mentor the younger players on the Pistons roster after arriving in Detroit via trade from Charlotte this offseason, writes Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld. The 32-year-old former Duke star's benefit to the franchise will be to serve as a leader for head coach Lawrence Frank both on and off the court. "I am very happy to be there," Maggette said. "I have been following the team for a long time going back to the Detroit Pistons with the ‘Bad Boys’ and Joe Dumars, who is the president right now. This is a great opportunity."
Nets general manager Billy King told FOX Sports Radio on Saturday that Brooklyn is in talks with Andrei Kirilenko to fill one of its two remaining roster spots, according to NetsDaily.com. King said Kirilenko looked strong while playing in Europe and would be a good fit for the Nets at the forward position. "We got a couple guys we're talking to. Nazr Mohammed is visiting now in New Jersey with his wife. We'd like to sign him as a back-up and then … We're talking to Kirilenko."
Nuggets forward Al Harrington spoke to InsideHoops.com about his recovery from three different surgeries and his hopes to be healthy enough to play on opening night of the regular season.

Warriors Interested In Andrei Kirilenko

July 20th, 2012 at 2:40pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors are seeking a backup forward and have been linked to Carl Landry, Kenyon Martin, Shelden Williams, and others. Today, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group adds another name to the team's wish list, reporting that Golden State is interested in Andrei Kirilenko, though Thompson cautions the Russian forward would be a long shot for the Warriors.

Earlier today, we passed along comments Kirilenko yesterday in which he suggested he could end up on the Nets or back in Russia with CSKA Moscow. As I wrote at the time, the Nets could only offer the veteran's minimum. The Warriors have the flexibility to offer at least double that amount, but it's not clear if that would be enough or if Kirilenko would have interest in the Warriors.

Based on Kirilenko's comments about potentially returning to the NBA, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link) wonders if the Timberwolves, another team that could offer more than the Nets, would be interested in the veteran forward.

Odds & Ends: Kirilenko, Hill, Green, Grizzlies

July 20th, 2012 at 10:43am CST by Luke Adams

After spending 10 productive seasons (19.1 career PER) with the Jazz, Andrei Kirilenko played overseas last season, but was widely viewed as a good bet to return to the NBA for 2012/13. Now, it's not clear whether or not Kirilenko will return to the Association, with one report suggesting he was on the fence, while another indicated a decision was likely by August 1st.

The latest on the Russian forward? NetsDaily passes along comments Kirilenko made to a Russian reporter, where he suggested that the Nets are still a possibility for him. It's hard to imagine Kirilenko settling for the veteran's minimum, which is all Brooklyn could offer at this point, so I still think CSKA Moscow is the 31-year-old's likeliest destination, but we'll have to wait out his decision.

Here are a few more Friday morning odds and ends from around the NBA:

Grant Hill expected to re-sign with the Suns this summer, but only received a minimum-salary offer from the team, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
While the Celtics have received some criticism for signing Jeff Green to a four-year, $36MM deal, agent David Falk insists there were other teams willing to make big offers for his client, as he tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
According to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, commissioner David Stern thinks an official decision regarding Robert Pera's purchase of the Grizzlies is still a couple months away.
The decision is still pending a Board of Governors vote, but the NBA will likely begin including small advertisements on uniforms beginning in 2013, as ESPN.com's Paul Lukas writes.

International Moves: Krstic, Kirilenko, Wafer

July 9th, 2012 at 12:06am CST by Chuck Myron

Behind 25 points from Ike Diogu, Nigeria defeated the Domincan Republic on Sunday for the final spot in the Olympics. The international game will garner plenty of attention over the next month or so, and tonight there's news about a few former, and perhaps future, NBA players as they make their decisions concerning pro teams overseas. Here's the latest:

Free Agent Rumors: Jamison, Sessions, Lewis

July 5th, 2012 at 10:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Five days into free agency, a number of big names, such as Deron Williams, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, are off the market. But there are still plenty of players out there looking for contracts. We'll wrap up many of today's free agent updates right here, with the latest items added to the top of the page throughout the day….

Antawn Jamison had dinner in Charlotte with Bobcats executives Rod Higgins and Rich Cho, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links). The former UNC star has also been talking to Warriors general manager Bob Myers, Jamison's former agent, and will chat with head coach Mark Jackson in the near future.
The Mavericks have reached out to Ramon Sessions for a second time and pitched a starting job to the veteran point guard, writes Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com.
Rashard Lewis will visit the Heat this weekend after having his contract bought out by the Hornets, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter links). The Hawks and the Knicks are among other teams interested in the veteran forward.

Earlier updates:

Pacific Rumors: Lakers, Nash, Kings, Kirilenko

June 29th, 2012 at 11:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

The major news of the day in the Pacific Division, and the league, for that matter, is the four-team trade that brings Lamar Odom back to the Clippers, his original NBA team. Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes about several key decision the Wolves have to make Saturday, many of which may be tied to the team's pursuit of Pau Gasol via trade with the Lakers. Richardson mentions that Michael Beasley has been working out in Los Angeles with former Laker Norm Nixon, who says his old team would "love" to sign Beasley. Nixon doesn't speak for the Lakers in an official capacity, of course, but it's just one more intriguing tidbit as Sunday's start to free agent negotiation's draws near. Here's more from the West Coast:

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic says it seems Steve Nash's days in Phoenix are over, as the Suns appear unwilling to come close to the $11.7MM he earned in 2011/12. Coro believes another team will give Nash an offer that approaches that figure.

Earlier updates:

Kirilenko Hopes To Sign With Jazz Or Nets

May 20th, 2012 at 7:03pm CST by Sean Highkin

Forward Andrei Kirilenko, currently playing for CSKA Moscow, was interviewed by Sovsport.ru, and revealed that he hopes to return to the NBA next season as either a member of the Utah Jazz or Brooklyn Nets (translation of original Russian article courtesy of HoopsHype):

Those two teams [the Jazz and Nets] are my top priorities. Utah is where I blossomed, the Nets are owned by a Russian oligarch. But no one knows how life will unfold, so please let's wait a little until July 1st, the hot time of change in the NBA.

Kirilenko, 31, played 10 seasons with the Jazz, from 2001 to 2011, before signing in Russia in October during the NBA lockout. He has not played in the NBA in 2011/12.

International Moves: Kirilenko, Lorbek

May 12th, 2012 at 3:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

We'll track today's news from overseas here in this post, with the latest updates on top:

Former Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko has been named the 2012 Euroleague MVP and winner of its Best Defender Award as well, according to a Euroleague press release (via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Earlier today we heard that though the Nets do not have a deal in place for Kirilenko, Brooklyn has been keeping an eye on him, while the Jazz remain Kirilenko's top choice among NBA teams. Former NBA center Nenad Krstic and 6'10" Erazem Lorbek, who's reportedly "very close" to a contract with the Spurs, were also selected to the All-Euroleague First Team.