Andrei Kirilenko, Irina Pavlova and Brett Yormark heading to Moscow next week

The Nets had a harder time selling the team in Russia than you would think, despite having the first Russian and European owner. The lament was always if you only had a Russian player. Now, the Nets have not only any Russian player, but Andrei Kirilenko, they are trying again.

Kirilenko, Irina Pavlova and Brett Yormark will head overseas next week and make the rounds of media and sports "influencers" not so much to sell sponsorships, but to re-introduce the team now that it has one of Russia's greatest players on its roster.

There will be reception and other meetings with sports industry people, finance, public relations and marketing, among other things.  One league said while the ultimate goal down the road may be sponsorships, the priority now is to create some buzz, said one league source.