Brooklyn Nets' deal with Andrei Kirilenko raises suspicions from NBA rivals

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The rest of the NBA had resigned itself to billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov's relentless pursuit of players and playoff success, absorbing it all until the Brooklyn Nets are pushing an unprecedented $185 million in payroll and punitive taxes. From Deron Williams to Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce to Joe Johnson, these Nets embody the spirit of the Russian's imperialistic vision.

Prokhorov had come to conquer the NBA, constructing a basketball arena in the borough of Brooklyn and empowering general manager Billy King to transform a barren roster into a championship contender. The Nets were destined to gather talent in this kind of boldly belligerent way, big names and bigger contracts stacked to the stars. From $101 million in salary to $82 million in luxury tax, Brooklyn has introduced itself as one of the biggest targets in the history of the NBA.

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Only this time, the rest of the NBA believes the Nets have gone too far, delivering the league into an unfiltered rage. The signing of Russian free agent Andrei Kirilenko – a $10 million-a-year player last season – for Brooklyn's $3.1 mini-midlevel exception has transformed rival owners and front office executives into an angry mob of disbelievers.

The insinuations are unmistakable: Around the NBA, there are calls for the commissioner's office to investigate the possibilities of side deals and Russian rubles ruling the day – for now, unfounded charges based on circumstance and appearances.

Within the NBA, there had long been those promising that deals would start popping up involving Prokhorov that made no fiscal sense, theorizing that high-end players could take less within the constraints of the salary cap and still make up the difference in clandestine pacts.

Once the Russian billionaire convinced a superb Russian player to take $7 million less to be a backup to Pierce, the rest of the NBA's reaction was instant and uproarious. For the first time now, the Nets have truly arrived as a contending franchise. They're good, with a chance to be great, and the rest of the NBA wants an investigation.

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"Brazen," one Western Conference GM told Yahoo! Sports.

"Let's see if the league has any credibility," one NBA owner told Yahoo! Sports. "It's not about stopping it. It's about punishing them if they're doing it."

Another Eastern Conference GM: "There should be a probe. How obvious is it?"

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A year ago, Brooklyn agreed on a full midlevel-exception deal with Euro forward Mirza Teletovic on a three-year, $15.7 million contract. Shortly after the agreement, Brooklyn realized it needed to alter the exception slot to still keep open the chance for cutting a trade for Dwight Howard. Without re-entering the market, Teletovic accepted a three-year, $9 million deal at the mini midlevel.

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Kirilenko wanted a three-year deal with a minimum of $8 million per season, front-office executives said.

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