For the second time in a week, a former Nets forward will end his career where it started.
Andrei Kirilenko, who was traded by the Nets this past December to the Philadelphia 76ers and subsequently waived, has come to an agreement with Russian club CSKA Moscow. Kirilenko played with CSKA Moscow from 1998-2001, following two seasons with Spartak St. Petersburg, as the youngest player to play in the Russian Superleague. The team won a championship in Kirilenko’s first season.
Kirilenko posted about the signing on his Instagram account, which used to be @ak47net, and is now @ak47cska:
The Nets signed Kirilenko to a two-year deal for the tax-payer mid-level exception in the summer of 2013, hoping to make him the final key to a championship contender. But Kirilenko struggled with back spasms in his first season, playing only 45 of a possible 82 games. The team went 30-15 in those 45 games.
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Kirilenko only played seven games in the 2014-15 season before leaving the team to deal with personal matters at home. The Nets dealt him with Jorge Gutierrez to the Philadelphia 76ers for Brandon Davies. Kirilenko refused to report to the 76ers and was suspended without pay by the team. The team then waived him shortly after the trade deadline.
