After opting out of the final year of his contract in Minnesota, a deal that was set to pay him $10.2 million in 2013-14, Andrei Kirilenko has signed a new contract with the Brooklyn Nets. The deal is a two year deal worth the NBA’s mid-level exemption of $3.18 million per season. The second year is a player option.
The Nets, already a team in the luxury tax threshold, will likely be paying close to $15 million just to have the former NBA All-Star as an option on the bench.
Kirilenko, 32, has spent 11 seasons in the NBA. He spent his first ten years playing for the Utah Jazz before spending 2011-12 with CSKA Moscow, signing there while the NBA was locked out. He returned to the NBA this season with Minnesota signing a deal with the club last July. He averaged 12.4 points per game on 50.7 percent shooting and had 5.7 rebounds a game for the Timberwolves last season. This was close to his career averages of 12.4 points per game on 47.3 percent shooting and 5.6 rebounds per game.
For the Nets this continues their major load up to take on the Miami Heat and challenge for the NBA title. Earlier in the off-season the Nets acquired Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett from the Boston Celtics. Added to a lineup that includes Derron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brooks Lopez, the Nets look like major contenders in the NBA’s Eastern Conference in 2013-14. That is if it all comes together as planned.
Minnesota, meanwhile, is likely to use newly drafted Shabazz Muhammad in Kirilenko’s place.
Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to follow our basketball department on Twitter – @giordun, @aFishCalledMatt, @NBAFantasyInfo and @KaineElmy. While you’re at it, give the site a follow too – @lastwordonsport.
Interested in writing for LastWordOnSports? If so, check out our “Join Our Team” page to find out how.
Main Photo Credit: article.wn.com, CC
