Because Andrei Kirilenko signed a below-market two-year deal with the Nets last month, conspiracy theories have abounded about why the Russian star would opt out of a $10 million deal with the Timberwolves for next season, only to wind up signing with the Nets for a little more than $3 million.
Though Kirilenko said the money wasn’t as good with the Nets as he had expected when he entered free agency, the total package the Nets could offer — and specifically the chance to win, and win big — was simply too good to pass up.
“During the summer, we always sit, me and my wife, and we talk about alternatives and different options,” Kirilenko said Thursday on a conference call with reporters. “Goals, roster, money, city, you combine all those things together and find the optimal option for me, my family, where do we want to play, how do we want to do it, how we see it.
“At this point, the Brooklyn Nets were the best option possible if you combine all of those things I just said. … I understand the money is not that great or not what I could have made, But if you take a look at the situations, 10 years ago I’m not sure I would take that deal. But right now, it’s really the best option possible to have a legit chance to win the trophy … for the first time in my career, basically, I’m starting a season where I know we have a chance to win the whole thing.”
Kirilenko also addressed the conspiracy theories that have cropped up since agreeing to a one-year deal with a player option with the Nets.
He answered the biggest question mark surrounding his signing — why he decided to opt out of the Minnesota contract to sign with the Nets at a reduced rate — by pointing to the change inside the Timberwolves front office, where general manager David Kahn was replaced by Flip Saunders.
“To be honest, I opted out of my deal not because I wanted to sign with the Nets,” he said. “At that time, I was feeling that I wanted to be in Minnesota for a long time, but as you know, there was some change in Minnesota. I am really respectful of Flip Saunders, and I respect his decision that he decided not to sign me for a long time.
“I can’t do anything with that, and that kind of opened up all my options, so I started looking at other teams and kind of comparing situations.”
Kirilenko, who has a long relationship with Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, also said he couldn’t control what people are saying about why he came to Brooklyn at a discount rate.
“I have been in situations during my career where rumors happen that you’re going to get traded, and different kinds of stories in the media, so I can’t do anything with what people think,” he said. “I’m going with the facts. You can’t change it, and I can’t control it.”
After the blockbuster trade with the Celtics in late June saw the Nets land Paul Pierce to replace Gerald Wallace as their starting small forward, they entered free agency looking for a quality player to come off the bench behind him. They first chased Kyle Korver, who wound up re-signing with Atlanta, and then came to an agreement with 2011 second-round pick Bojan Bogdanovic, only to see the deal fall apart when Bogdanovic couldn’t come to an agreement on his buyout with Fenerbahce Ulker, his team in Turkey.
The combination of those options both falling through, as well as Kirilenko’s market drying up and the change in Minnesota’s front office, led to the Nets unexpectedly winding up with a better player than either Korver or Bogdanovic to play behind Pierce and give them arguably the NBA’s deepest bench .
“I understand we’re going to have a veteran team, and having eight or 10 people who can play at the highest level and split those minutes,” said 32-year-old Kirilenko, who added he has no problem coming off the bench. “I would say it’s a privilege in the NBA, because not a lot of teams have those kinds of depth. Usually a team has, I don’t know, three or four superstars as a max, and then you have guys helping them.
“Here, we have seven, eight guys who can play at the highest level possible and can compete with any starting lineup in the NBA. So I think it’s a good bonus for the team when you have those kinds of players.”