After spending 10 productive seasons (19.1 career PER) with the Jazz, Andrei Kirilenko played overseas last season, but was widely viewed as a good bet to return to the NBA for 2012/13. Now, it's not clear whether or not Kirilenko will return to the Association, with one report suggesting he was on the fence, while another indicated a decision was likely by August 1st.
The latest on the Russian forward? NetsDaily passes along comments Kirilenko made to a Russian reporter, where he suggested that the Nets are still a possibility for him. It's hard to imagine Kirilenko settling for the veteran's minimum, which is all Brooklyn could offer at this point, so I still think CSKA Moscow is the 31-year-old's likeliest destination, but we'll have to wait out his decision.
Here are a few more Friday morning odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Grant Hill expected to re-sign with the Suns this summer, but only received a minimum-salary offer from the team, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- While the Celtics have received some criticism for signing Jeff Green to a four-year, $36MM deal, agent David Falk insists there were other teams willing to make big offers for his client, as he tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
- According to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, commissioner David Stern thinks an official decision regarding Robert Pera's purchase of the Grizzlies is still a couple months away.
- The decision is still pending a Board of Governors vote, but the NBA will likely begin including small advertisements on uniforms beginning in 2013, as ESPN.com's Paul Lukas writes.