Thunder Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)
January 5, 2009
Nenad Krstic's arrival in Oklahoma City wasn't the typical free-agent signing. Not only did the Thunder sign the Serbian center to an offer sheet in the middle of the season, the deal was further complicated by Krstic playing overseas.
Oklahoma City helped negotiate a buyout with the Russian club Lyubertsy of Superleague A. NBA teams can pay up to $500,000 to satisfy a buyout.
Bring him in now for $16 million over three years is a bargain if Krstic is as healthy as team doctors believe and his play in Russia suggest. The 25-year-old 7-footer with 18-foot range and high basketball IQ would have heavily been pursued this summer.
"We're no different than any other team in the league," general manager Sam Presti said.