When Russian basketball issued its preliminary roster for the FIBA European championships a few days ago, two prominent names were missing, and both had a Nets connection.
Sergey Karasev, who had knee surgery in March, and Andrei Kirilenko, who the Nets traded to Philly last December, were not on the list. Karasev is still recuperating and won't be game-ready. He expects to resume contact drills in August, just before Eurobasket opens in France on September 2. Kirilenko, according to reports, is retiring from the game after 15 years, ending last year with the Nets.