HoopsHype.com Rumors

Emiliano Carchia: A source told me that Andrei Kirilenko's future is still up in the air. 50-50 chances for him to stay or to go back to the NBA Twitter

Free Agency, Andrei Kirilenko, Russia, CSKA Moscow 

CSKA Moscow's center Alexander Kaun (27 years, 211 cm) will stay in red-blue until the end of 2014-15 season. Kaun turned to red-blue just after his championship season with Kansas University. From that point he played in Euroleague Final Fours three times, won 4 Russian League titles, 2 VTB United League titles and Russian Cup. Sasha finished the previous season as the Euroleague single season (71.2%) and all-time (70.1%) leader in two-point percentage. Sportando

Cleveland Cavaliers, Sasha Kaun, Russia, CSKA Moscow 

He will be a member of the team for the next three season, something that also apply to Sasha Kaun. His deal is not announced yet, but Russian sources confirmed to Eurohoops.net that the former University of Kansas player and NCAA champion has also signed a new three years contract. As for the official announcement, is just a matter of days, or even hours. It’s obvious that contract negotiations for both players have been finilized, probably before the Euroleague Final Four in Istanbul. EuroHoops.net

Sasha Kaun, Russia, CSKA Moscow 

So where are you off to now? Brooklyn or Utah? Andrei Kirilenko: These two teams are my top priorities. In Utah is where I blossomed, the Nets are owned by a Russian Oligarch. But no one knows how life will unfold, so please let's wait a little until July 1st, the hot time of change in the NBA. But for now I want to enjoy this Championship of Russia. We earned it. Sovsport.ru

Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz, Free Agency, Andrei Kirilenko, Russia 

At the end of the Russian PBL final won against Khimki, Andrei Kirilenko released an interview and talked about his future. 'I haven't decided my future yet. There are 50-50 chances for me to stay or to go. I just want to say that if I stay in Europe, it will be with CSKA Moscow. I won't play for any other team. I am going to weigh my options. It is going to be a very busy summer' said Kirilenko, Sportando

Free Agency, Andrei Kirilenko, Russia, CSKA Moscow 

Weren’t you afraid to go back to Russia? You hold an American passport. Not everyone in Russia thought your decision made sense. Andrei Kirilenko: Why? I knew where I was going and America will wait. My wife and three children were able to choose where to live. Russia Beyond The Headlines

Andrei Kirilenko, Russia, United States of America 

Can you say a few words about the problems you had taking your U.S. citizenship test. Andrei Kirilenko: Those were not problems, but a misunderstanding. I could not answer a question about the War of Independence. They asked me why the colonists disliked the British government and I said they wanted freedom. They told me the answer was wrong, but I said I thought it was definitely right. Russia Beyond The Headlines

Andrei Kirilenko, Russia, United States of America 

It is no secret that you adopted your third child, a baby girl. You sought adoption in Russia for several months. Why did you want to do this? Andrei Kirilenko: I do not want to answer this one. I made this decision with my wife and we will try and make this child happy. RBTH: You have established a charity for children. Why? Andrei Kirilenko: I just like helping those helping need, especially children, and I am in a position to do so. Russia Beyond The Headlines

Andrei Kirilenko, Russia 

Ettore Messina denies any agreement with Fenerbahce Ulker. In fact, if Messina decided to return to Europe his first option would be CSKA Moscow. TuBasket.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Russia, Ettore Messina, CSKA Moscow, Fenerbahce Ulker 

The 31-year-old, who joined the Utah Jazz from CSKA as a raw talent in 2001, was unsure what to do when the July-December NBA lockout ended as many of the Euroleague’s imports from the world’s most popular league headed back across the Atlantic. “I had a lot of doubts but a number of factors came into the picture, most of all the fantastic team chemistry at CSKA and my desire to mould with the core of the Russian national team vying for an Olympic berth,” Kirilenko told reporters on Thursday. “In the end I decided to stay because the exertions in the Euroleague, where you are allowed to have a dip in form, are less demanding than those in the NBA where you sometimes play five games a week and have no time to recuperate. ”I am very excited to be back and after winning the 2007 European Championship with Russia, I now want to win Europe’s premier club competition too and especially so because this is something of an uncharted territory for me.“ 24 Hours Vancouver

Euroleague, Andrei Kirilenko, Russia, CSKA Moscow 

Yann Casseville: Andrei Kirilenko : "I'm sure the four Final Four teams could be in the NBA Playoffs." #Euroleague #NBA Twitter

Euroleague, Andrei Kirilenko, Russia, CSKA Moscow 

Yann Casseville: Kirilenko: "The rules and the players are different, but these four teams have the heart of the champion. It's the + important." #tweetprecedent Twitter

Euroleague, Andrei Kirilenko, Russia, CSKA Moscow 

Prokhorov has trademarked "e-phone" in Russia. Watch out, Apple!! Twitter

Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia 

To some Russian people, oligarchs are robber barons who stole their raw materials — notably during the great privatization movement of the 1990s, when Prokhorov bought Norilsk Nickel for $250 million and turned it into a $60 billion behemoth. That, of course, was another lifetime. He sold that company just before the crash, and has since put much of his fortune into gold and aluminum, and is reportedly worth somewhere in the rich neighborhood of $13 billion. He offered to give up almost all of it if he won the election, by the way — a move that was widely interpreted as a desperate pander. He ended up with 8 percent of the vote, and is thinking of running again, because he found consolation in a recent survey. “This election was for me a great testimony,” he said. “Twenty percent of Russian population are looking for changes, severe changes to the economy ... (and ultimately) the majority of Russia will fight for the changes. That is why I am optimistic.” Newark Star-Ledger

Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia 

“I love Russia, but it was a crazy experience for me as far as trying to learn the European game. It was so hard for me. I was just playing strictly off of talent and what I knew from the NBA. Just me being there and that experience, me being there it was unbelievable man. The people there are a little different. No English, of course, but I had fun. I feel like I got better. I feel like I came there and I left there a better person. At the end of the day, that’s what matters to me. HoopsWorld

Brooklyn Nets, Gerald Green, Russia 

NBA great, LeBron James, is aware that Russia have a strong basketball squad, capable of causing the US Dream Team some problems at the London Games. Talking to Sport-Express newspaper, the Miami Heat star stressed that there’ll be a lot of strong teams at this summer’s Olympics. “They are Spain, France, Argentina and Brazil,” he said. “Plus, someone strong will make it to the Games through qualifying. Most likely, it’ll be the Russians.” RT

LeBron James, USA Basketball, Russia 

The 27-year-old confessed that he’s excited to make it back to the US national side after four years. “I always enjoy coming to the national team,” he said. “After all, I haven’t yet won anything in club basketball, but with the national team I became an Olympic champion. And I’ll try to do it again. I think it’ll be interesting in London.” RT

LeBron James, USA Basketball, Russia 

Billionaire businessman and Putin election challenger Mikhail Prokhorov said on Tuesday, Feb 28, he is forming a "non-political" party seeking to unite Russia's civil society. "It will be an absolutely new party. It will be built, if you will, according to a non-political principle," Prokhorov said at a news conference, RIA Novosti reported. panarmenian.net

Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia 

The tycoon and owner of the U.S. NBA New Jersey Nets basketball team is the only independent candidate running in Sunday's presidential polls, which Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who held the presidential post between 2000 and 2008, is almost certain to win. "No one has ever done this before, and we'd like to be the first to create a party which will unite our civil society," Prokhorov, seen by critics as a Kremlin project designed to split the opposition, told the Moscow news conference. panarmenian.net

Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia 

And here is Russian oligarch and presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov rapping. A couple of weeks ago, Prokhorov, whom I wrote about for The New Yorker this week, appeared on “Projector Paris Hilton,” a comedy show on state television that allows itself some mild political satire. The show’s hosts handed Prokhorov a sheet of paper and asked him to rap along about his signature technology product, the ѿ-Mobile. Pronounced “yo-Mobilie,” it sounds roughly like the shorthand for Fuck Mobile to a Russian ear. It also makes for a fun, if corny, conceit for some stiff-jointed rapping. The New Yorker

Brooklyn Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia