Andrei Kirilenko is as much of a phantom for the Nets as Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. They keep pursuing him and like the others, he keeps slipping away.

They tried for him at the deadline in 2011 after losing out on Melo (those talks turned to Deron Williams). Then, as the lockout ended, they talked to his agent (but Brook Lopez went down and they traded for Mehmet Okur and he headed to Russia). Now this week, they tried a third time but again, he's just out of reach, reportedly headed for MInnesota.

And this doesn't even count Mikhail Prokhorov's attempt, as owner of CSKA, to pry him away from Utah in 2007!

Adrian Wojnarowski tweets, "Several league executives believe Minnesota is pursuing free agent Andrei Kirilenko. He's no longer considering Brooklyn, sources say." The Timberwolves, having cleared space by facilitating the Suns' trade of Robin Lopez to the Hornets, are likely to sign the Russian star and Euroleague MVP to a two-year deal worth an average of $10 million per. There's always next year.

• Source: Three-team deal discussed - Chris Broussard - ESPN
• Three-team trade could lead to T'wolves signing Andrei Kirilenko - Adrian Wojnarowski - Yahoo! Sports
• Wolves target Kirilenko, ready to deal to make room - Jerry Zgoda - Minneapolis Star-Tribune
• Timberwolves pursue Andrei Kirilenko, report says - Ray Richardson - St. Paul Pioneer-Press
• Wolves executive has reached out to Andrei Kirilenko, source says - Darren Wolfson - ESPN Radio