Andrei Kirilenko Signs 3-Year Deal With CSKA Moscow

Not too surprisingly, Andrei Kirilenko will hoop back home in Russia for the duration of the NBA lockout. From the FIBA website: “The NBA season may be in doubt because of the lockout that has been in effect since the beginning of July, but that’s not keeping some players off the court. Deron Williams is playing for Besiktas in Turkey and now his former Utah Jazz teammate, Andrei Kirilenko of Russia, has signed a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow with an NBA return option. The Russian giants announced the 30-year-old’s capture on Tuesday morning. Coach Jonas Kazlauskas had the final say of the return of Kirilenko to the club he played for before moving to the NBA in 2001. ‘My opinion,’ Kazlauskas said in a club announcement, ‘you should not take the NBA player during the lockout. If they can leave you, you don’t know what to expect. And only the weak teams can take this kind of step. At the same time, every rule has its exception, and Kirilenko is the exception. Andrei is the star of Russian and world basketball, he means for his country as much as Sabonis for Lithuania, Pau Gasol for Spain, Nowitzki for Germany.'”