Report: Spurs Attempt At Sign And Trade For Kirilenko Fails

Nov 5, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrei Kirlenko (47) dunks in the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. The Timberwolves beat the Mavericks 90-82. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

A report from Yahoo! Sports, Adrian Wojnarowski, says trade talks between the Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves to sign-and-trade for Andrei Kirilenko have ended without a deal.

As reported at the start of free agency, the Spurs had contacted Kirilenko in attempts to sign the free agent, but with the Belinelli and Pendergraph signings, the cap room to sign AK-47 is gone. The only way to get a deal done would be via a sign-and-trade.

From the report,

There were possible combinations of Spurs assets that appealed to the T’wolves, but ultimately Minnesota was unable – or unwilling – to take back the contracts on what could’ve been an $8 million to $9 million annual salary agreement for Kirilenko, league sources said.

Kirilenko opted-out of a $10 million contract this summer, in hopes of finding a long term deal, and has received plenty of interest on the market. But with the T-Wolves signing Kevin Martin and Chase Budinger, while also trying to clear cap room to sign Corey Brewer, trade talks seem to be slightly difficult at this point.

It’s possible that after these free agents start signing their deals (the signing period began just hours ago) that a deal could get struck once teams know exactly how much cap room they have to deal with. Or maybe the Spurs will have to look elsewhere in the meantime.

San Antonio will also have plenty of expiring contracts to offer up as trade pieces, come February’s trade deadline, so anything is still possible.