Miami Heat did not complain to NBA about Brooklyn Nets’ Kirilenko signing
By Bryan Rose
When Andrei Kirilenko declined his $10 million dollar contract option with the Minnesota Timberwolves, only to sign a $3.2 million dollar deal with the Brooklyn Nets, eyebrows around the NBA began to raise.
This was a player, who not very long ago, decided to leave the NBA because he couldn’t get a contract he felt he was worthy of and now all of a sudden he’s leaving millions of dollars on the table to play for fellow countryman, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov?
Something seemed fishy and enough teams cried foul to the NBA for them to open up an investigation.
The NBA couldn’t prove anything despite the questionable situation and given what is likely to be one of the most heated rivalries in the NBA this season, it was thought the Miami Heat were one of the teams who complained to the NBA about the strange signing. However, according to Yahoo Sports that wasn’t the case as the Heat did not complain to the league about the Nets:
"Several teams demanded an investigation, but the Heat never complained, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Part of the reason is that Miami owner Micky Arison has a strong relationship with King and respect for him, but mostly the Heat understand what it means to be a target in free-agency conspiracy accusations."