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Andrei Kirilenko | Forward

Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Age / DOB:  (32) / 2/18/1981
Ht / Wt:  6'9' / 234
College: None
Contract: view contract details
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Latest News

Recent News

Andrei Kirilenko has not decided whether he'll opt in our out of his contract, a decision he needs to make by the end of the month.
Kirilenko recently told a Russian reporter that nothing has been decided yet, but he wasn't thrilled at the idea of playing on a one-year deal. It sounds like Kirilenko is considering opting out, and according to 1500 ESPN, the team doesn't "love" the idea of paying him $10 million. If AK-47 does opt out, the Wolves will likely have to offer a multi-year deal to keep him. Jun 7 - 9:24 AM
Source: 1500 ESPN

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Player News

Date:

Timberwolves GM Flip Saunders says he expects Andrei Kirilenko to return next season.

Kirilenko has until June 30 to either opt-out of his contract or pick up his player option for the 2013-14 season. Saunders is expecting him to do the latter, which would pay Kirilenko over $10 million next year. We doubt he'd get that much on the open market due to his age and health questions, but Kirilenko can still be a solid rotation player for Minnesota next season. Unfortunately, with Kevin Love presumably back and healthy, Kirilenko's fantasy value will be pretty limited.
May 29 - 5:54 PM

Andrei Kirilenko hit 2-of-6 shots for five points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals in 20 minutes of Wednesday's final win over the Spurs.

Kirilenko had a nice season when he was healthy, but he also let owners down in the second half of the season. He'll be another year older next season and Kevin Love will presumably be back, meaning Kirilenko's run as a solid fantasy player could be coming to an end.
Apr 17 - 11:44 PM

Andrei Kirilenko finished Saturday's victory with 13 points, one 3-pointer, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a season-high seven steals.

AK was one steal shy of his career-high and he has double-digit points in four straight games. It's safe to say that he's 'back' after weeks of quiet play following a calf injury.
Apr 6 - 11:00 PM

Andrei Kirilenko had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists in Wednesday's victory, while playing 34 minutes of action.

The stats aren't too impressive, but AK hadn't played more than 32 minutes in a game since returning from injury in mid-March. Tonight's game was as good a sign as any that he's healthy and ready to pick up a bigger role in the Wolves' final games.
Apr 3 - 10:18 PM

Andrei Kirilenko finally had a nice game on Monday, hitting 6-of-7 shots and a 3-pointer for 17 points, nine rebounds, five assist and two steals in a tough win over the Celtics.

AK-47 has been struggling, but finally got it going against a short-handed Boston team tonight, who saw Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett sitting in street clothes. Now owners of AK just have to hope he can keep it going on Wednesday against the Bucks. Don't feel too bad if he was on your bench tonight, as he just hadn't been playing well enough to be in most lineups right now.
Apr 2 - 12:17 AM

Andrei Kirilenko was quiet against the Grizzlies on Saturday with five points, four boards and one assist in 28 minutes.

It looked like he was getting ready to come around due the averages of 11.5 points, 2.5 steals, 0.5 blocks and 0.5 triples in 29.5 minutes over his last two games, but he fell on his face tonight. Kirilenko has been a disappointment lately and uncharacteristically has just one total block over his five games. He has a great schedule, so we would be apprehensive in cutting him for a hot free agent.
Mar 30 - 11:50 PM

Andrei Kirilenko scored 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting (including a three) with four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block in 32 minutes on Friday against the Thunder.

If Kirilenko can play like this for the rest of the year owners will call it a win. Go ahead and evaluate him cautiously as if the arrow is pointing slightly up.
Mar 30 - 1:38 AM

Andrei Kirilenko played 27 minutes, but hit just 3-of-8 shots for 11 points, two rebounds, three assists and three steals on Wednesday.

The minutes are creeping up and while he's still not getting it done for his owners, he could break out of the funk at any time. His calf injury is still not fully healed, but you have to think he'll start feeling better as long as they're continuing to let him play through it.
Mar 28 - 12:59 AM

Andrei Kirilenko played 24 minutes and hit 4-of-9 shots for just nine points on Tuesday, and added just one rebound, two assists, a steal and a 3-pointer in an easy win over the Pistons.

This is not what his owners were looking for when they picked him up, and he also had a disappointing line on Sunday. He's still limited by his calf injury and while chances are he'll get it going at some point, he's not a player that should be considered a 'must-start' given his current struggles.
Mar 26 - 10:43 PM

Andrei Kirilenko struggled again on Sunday, scoring four points on 2-of-6 shooting, with three rebounds and three turnovers in 26 minutes.

AK admitted this weekend that his calf is still limiting him, and the return of Chase Budinger (seven points in 19 minutes) finally gives the Wolves a legitimate alternative at SF. Minnesota's stretch of four-game weeks does lessen the risk of deploying AK in standard formats, and he was coming off a 20-point game, so hopefully he'll bounce back against the Pistons' more lenient defense on Tuesday.
Mar 24 - 10:08 PM

Andrei Kirilenko said that his calf could be an issue for another week.

"It's going to bother me for another week probably," Kirilenko said. He put up 20 points in just 25 minutes on Friday, which is quite an efficient outing. His minutes probably won't be approaching his 32.7 minutes per game average this year and 25 per game sounds about right, so his numbers will suffer. Kirilenko is still worth owning in standard leagues with his defensive prowess, but he's certainly a risky property.
Mar 23 - 2:49 PM

Andrei Kirilenko picked up the pace on Friday against the Suns, scoring 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting with six rebounds and one assist in 25 minutes.

Kirilenko couldn't have come across a better matchup to get back on track, but the lack of steals and blocks are an indicator that he hasn't knocked all of the rust off yet. He is still worth considering in starting lineups and will be a tough guy to bench next week if he remains healthy.
Mar 23 - 1:27 AM

Andrei Kirilenko shot 3-of-9 from the field for six points with four boards and three assists in 27 minutes against the Kings.

He only played 16 minutes on Monday and the Kings will keep him on a minutes limit for a little while longer. Chase Budinger's return could hurt him, but AK-47 is still worth owning as long as it's not hurting your team too badly in the fantasy playoffs.
Mar 22 - 12:43 AM

Andrei Kirilenko is currently on a minutes limit as he works his way back from his calf injury.

Kirilenko is playing around 20 minutes per game, and the reason he only played 16 on Monday is because he played 25 in his first game back. It's unclear how long the limit will last, but as long as he's limited to around 20 minutes, it's going to be tough for him to contribute consistently for owners.
Mar 20 - 9:06 AM

Depth Charts

All Positions
PosRoleName
PG1Ricky Rubio
2J.J. Barea
SG1Luke Ridnour
2Alexey Shved
3Malcolm Lee
SF1Andrei Kirilenko
2Mickael Gelabale
3Chase Budinger
PF1Kevin Love
2Derrick Williams
3Dante Cunningham
C1Nikola Pekovic
2Greg Stiemsma
3Chris Johnson