According to the PA Sports Ticker, Nets free agent Nenad Krstic has decided to head to Europe. Coming off an injury plagued season that limited him to just 6.4 points a game, Krstic and his agent Marc Cornstein were unable to land the former rising star a mid-level contract with an NBA franchise, according to ESPN, which necessitated the move from the NBA.

Now with the Triumph Moscow, Krstic got the kind of money no one would pay him in the NBA at almost nine million a season and will have two years to get his act together before making another possible return to the NBA.

While Krstic is probably enthralled that someone actually thinks he’s worth that kind of money, it’s got to be a bittersweet victory for him. Two seasons ago, Krstic was looking like a future All-Star and someone the Nets could depend on. After a debilitating knee injury however, he was never the same player.

Some Nets fans may have wanted to give him one more go just to make sure, but watching him most of last season, it was obvious; he was done.

The Nets front office can retain his NBA rights by offering him a qualifying offer every season [worth approximately 2.7 million], but as of right now, they’ll just wish him the best in his new endeavors.

“We’ll see what happens but eventually I think he’ll go wherever he can get the best deal,” Rod Thorn told the NY Post on July 30. “For now, this was the best deal for him.”

Add in the arrival of Brook Lopez, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Ryan Anderson, in addition to the solid play of Josh Boone last season and the continued development of Sean Williams and it was apparent that the Nets didn’t need the big guy anymore either.

In a solid article written by Jonathan Lehman this week for the Post, it seems that these youngsters are ready to prove they belong as well.

“I don’t know if it’s rebuilding, but the Nets organization as a whole is starting over,” Douglas-Roberts said. “I feel this is a great rookie class, especially for the Nets. We’re the sleeper in the East.”

Now the Nets will have an opportunity to give these youngsters a real opportunity to play, which should make training camp very competitive for the team and intriguing for fans.

Like I mentioned in last week’s post, the Nets bench is much deeper than last season and despite eliminating two of the former big three, this team should still be very competitive. Regardless of what many think, the East is a crap shoot every season and as long as the Nets can hover around .500, they’ll have a shot to get in the playoffs.