Friday, September 19, 2008

Kirilenko is from Russia!


The internet is abuzz this morning with fresh rumors of Kirilenko leaving Utah. This time, the world wide rumor mill has him heading to Russia to play for CSKA Moscow. Here's the gist of the rumor:
  1. Everyone's go-to website for Lithuanian-related basketball rumors, KrepsInIs.net, is reporting that CSKA is wooing Kirilenko to return to the motherland.

  2. According to the report, Kirilenko is interested in leaving the NBA and that is why he has not renewed his contract with the Jazz.

  3. The deal would be a Derek Fisher-like departure in which Kirilenko and the Jazz both agree to tear up his contract and the $49 million still owed over the next three years.

Now the cold hard facts:

  1. Kirilenko has not renewed his contract with the Jazz because (A) he isn't eligible to renew it and (B) he makes such an obscene amount of money that the Jazz would never extend his current contract unless there were a huge pay reduction.

  2. CSKA and Kirilenko's agent deny any talks.

  3. Although CSKA is one of the handful of cash rich European squads, they aren't paying anywhere near the neighborhood of $50 million for a defensive specialist.

If Kirilenko ever approached the Jazz and said, "Look guys, it's been a nice run, but why don't you let me out of my huge, bloated contract which threatens the long-term health of the franchise," the Jazz would rip up his deal faster than Adam Keefe elevating to the rim. But don't count on that happening. At least not this year. Maybe in the last year of his deal, when he is only walking away from a measly $16 million, he might consider taking Masha back to Moscow. But until then, the Jazz are on the hook.

5 comments:

Pasty Gangsta said...

My favorite line from the D News article:

"[AK] hasn't renewed the deal because he can't. Nyet yet, at least."

That crazy Jody Genessy and his crazy Russian language puns! What a jokester!

Note: I can now officially make fun of the Deseret News because my mom took early retirement from Thomas Monson's newspaper of record.

Orlando said...

YES! I've been waiting for the day that I could finally make fun of that rag without offending Mama Gangsta.

For the record, it is the fourth best paper in Utah.

The Golden Griff said...

Behind the Trib, the SL City Weekly and what else?

Orlando said...

Ogden Standard Examiner

theguildedpage said...

Well, I do not really believe this will have success.