Utah's Kirilenko signs with CSKA Moscow

MOSCOW, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko has agreed to a three-year deal to rejoin the CSKA Moscow basketball team in Russia.

Kirilenko, 30, led CSKA Moscow to the Russia Superleague championship in 1999. His first professional team was Spartak St. Petersburg for a season before joining CSKA for two years.

"I am glad to be back to the team where I spent the years of adolescence. It's a pleasure to have a chance to play for Russian fans, my friends, relatives," Kirilenko said in a statement on CSKA's Web site.

"CSKA has a very strong team, great coach, excellent players. It's great when the highest goals are ahead of you. It's especially interesting to play under the load of responsibility. I am sure that we are able to solve any task together."

Kirilenko moved to the NBA in 2001-02, joining the Jazz, which drafted him in the first round in 1999. Kirilenko has played in Utah for 10 seasons, averaging 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds over 681 games. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent once the NBA season begins.

Kirilenko's agreement with CSKA includes a clause that allows him to return to the NBA once the current labor impasse is solved.