"Andrei Kirilenko never got into a great rhythm after that one All-Star season with the Jazz. But a lack of rhythm wasn't his problem. Actually, it was his strength.

He was all about disrupting the ebb and flow, short circuiting the system.

But he was also a nice guy in a hard business, which may have kept him from being great.

Reports on Tuesday said Kirilenko was nearing terms with the New Jersey Nets. If true, it is as surprising as a snow day in Omsk. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has openly coveted his countryman's skills. It has been a foregone conclusion since last spring that his days in Utah were over. Becoming a free agent cleared the Jazz of a $17.8 million salary.

So off he goes into the sunset. No more Cold War headlines and references to assault rifles. The main thing Kirilenko assaulted was the Jazz's pocketbook."