Barring an 11th-hour change of heart, the Nets were set Monday night to say farewell to center/forward Nenad Krstic, who had a two-year deal worth $10 million in place with a Russian team.
The Nets, with the salary cap in mind, had until midnight to try to pull off a sign-and-trade, a scenario that seemed unlikely with Krstic, a restricted free agent.
Krstic, 25, would be the second Nets player to depart for Russia this offseason. Last week, forward Bostjan Nachbar signed a three-year deal to play in Moscow.
Krstic averaged 6.6 points and 4.4 rebounds for the Nets last season, averaging 18 minutes in 45 games.
The 7-footer still hasn't returned to the form he showed before tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in January 2007.
In the 26 games he played that season he averaged 16.4 points and 6.8 rebounds.
The situation is good for the Nets in that they don't have to worry about losing Krstic to another NBA team. In a sense, his time in Russia could be viewed as a long rehab assignment, allowing him to regain strength in the knee before making a comeback with the Nets.
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Dill 