ORLANDO, Fla. — Billy King’s backup plan turned out to be a stroke of genius.
Yesterday, one day after the Nets moved on following an agreement with Bojan Bogdanovic that fell apart, seemingly leaving them with a hole at small forward, general manager King managed to fill it with one of the best value signings of the entire NBA offseason. Multiple sources confirmed the Nets agreed to terms with forward Andrei Kirilenko on a two-year deal.
The Nets will pay Kirilenko $3.183 million this season, using their entire mini mid-level exception, their only remaining way to pay a free agent for more than the veteran’s minimum. The move also pushes the Nets’ payroll over $100 million for next season, and means they will pay roughly $80 million in luxury tax.
The deal, which includes a player option for the second year, suddenly gives the Nets one of the NBA’s most versatile players to add to an already impressive summer haul — including the blockbuster trade with the Celtics for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry, as well as the signing of Shaun Livingston and re-signing of Andray Blatche, both of which were announced yesterday.
Adding Kirilenko only reinforces the franchise’s case it should be considered among the Eastern Conference’s elite teams, and as a clear challenger to the defending NBA champion Heat.
“I mean, why not?” said Blatche, when asked yesterday before the Kirilenko news broke if the Nets have a roster that can compete for a championship. “Every team is gunning for a championship, so why shouldn’t we?”
A union between Kirilenko and the Nets has been rumored over the past two years, given the links between the 6-foot-9 forward and Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov. The two are friendly, and Kirilenko played for CSKA Moscow from 1998-2001, Prokhorov was financially involved with the club before buying the Nets. Prokhorov also flew to Istanbul to watch Kirilenko play for CSKA last May.
Kirilenko, who averaged 12.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists for Minnesota last year, opted out of his $10 million salary for the upcoming season with the Timberwolves to test the free-agent market.
However, the market quickly dried up, leaving free agents such as Kirilenko and Monta Ellis — who also opted out of an eight-figure salary for next season to test free agency — searching for homes.
The Spurs reportedly attempted to sign Kirilenko through a sign-and-trade with the Timberwolves before that deal fell through. The Nets ended up being the beneficiaries of the way the market played out, scooping up Kirilenko for far cheaper than anyone could have anticipated on July 1.
The Nets are now legitimately two players deep at each position, with Deron Williams and Livingston at point guard, Joe Johnson and Terry at shooting guard, Pierce and Kirilenko at small forward, Garnett, Reggie Evans and Mirza Teletovic at power forward and Brook Lopez and Blatche at center.
Many of those players also are capable of being deployed at multiple positions, allowing rookie coach Jason Kidd to use a wide variety of lineups and play at different speeds, as well.
Now it will be up to Kidd to maximize the potential of a team that has championship aspirations.
“Our owner wants to win,” Kidd said. “So my job is whatever pieces he gives me, I have to coach them, so I’m excited about it.
“You guys use the word pressure, but it’s just a game of challenges, of ups-and-downs and runs. But I’m not looking at it as a pressure situation. I’m embracing the challenge, and that’s what it is.”