[bigboydan]

I guess he's not much a team player at all. As a GM I wouldn't want that type of player on my team, because the same thing would reoccur at some point.

Report: Kirilenko wants Jazz to trade him

Roughly three months removed from their longest playoff run in a decade, the Utah Jazz could have a starting lineup with less firepower next season.

In a blog post made Tuesday on the Russian Web site Sport Today, Andrei Kirilenko said he seeks a trade from the Jazz and voices his concern with playing next season for coach Jerry Sloan.

The Salt Lake Tribune confirmed that the post was made by the Jazz forward.

Kirilenko, an NBA All-Star in 2004, had his worst season last year despite the Jazz winning 51 games and advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1997-98. He played in 70 games, averaging 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game last season after playing in 69 games in 2005-06 and averaging 15.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 3.1 bpg.

Despite a difficult NBA campaign, Kirilenko stood out at the European Basketball Tournament, leading his native Russia to the championship to clinch an Olympic berth. He was named tournament MVP and said on the blog that playing for Russian coach David Blatt helped him decipher his future.

The Tribune translated part of Kirilenko's as: "In a week, I need to join the Utah Jazz again but quite frankly I'm not really happy about that. The past season was bad for me and I was really disappointed. I've thought about it a lot and I came to a decision. I want to leave Utah Jazz. The European championships that just ended became sort of a test for me and now I think I know what I want to do.

"Coach Sloan is one of the reasons. It's not the only reason. ... [Sloan's] main method to motivate players is to create a feeling of guilt. Our wages, our errors in games and whatever we do beyond playing for the Jazz is also an excuse to criticize us. I want to play basketball. I want to be happy playing basketball, but I don't want to be a robot in Sloan's system."

The Jazz open training camp on Oct. 6 and Kevin O'Connor, the team's senior vice president of basketball operations, expects Kirilenko in camp.

"We explained to him when everybody was supposed to be back and we expect him to be here," O'Connor told the newspaper.

Kirilenko said in his blog post that he told O'Connor of his request a few weeks ago but hasn't heard back from him.

"I don't want to be there and mechanically fulfill a contract. Unfortunately, it's been more than a week, but I haven't heard from the Jazz leadership," Kirilenko wrote. "There's no response negative or positive and this silence is just one more evidence of the way they treat me. Nevertheless, I'm really hopeful that Utah Jazz leadership will realize that our relationship is over and it's time for us to part ways."

Kirilenko was frustrated with his role for most of the past season. Following Game 1 of the Jazz's opening-round playoff series against Houston, Kirilenko was visibly upset. He played limited minutes in the first two games of the series and was pulled by Sloan from Game 2 after missing a nine-foot jumper.

After the season, he complained to a Russian newspaper about his role in the offense and that he felt he was being treated like a rookie instead of a franchise player. Sloan said in June that the team would keep Kirilenko but that Utah would also try to do what's best for the team.

"We're not looking. I don't like to trade people," Sloan said. "But we've got to do what's best for the franchise, always.

"He's got to come and play," Sloan said. "I mean, when he doesn't come and play hard, he can blame it on whatever he wants, but all I can say is what I see on the floor. We loved the way when he plays great. And he can be good all the time if he works at it."

O'Connor told the newspaper on Tuesday he has spoken with Kirilenko but declined to comment on the conversation.

[jonmic]

AK-47 can do whatever he wants, he's deadly

[bigboydan]

AK-47 can do whatever he wants, he's deadly

Last time I checked he was still under contract with the Jazz.

[bigboydan]

Heres the latest and greatest on this chapter. I personally don't believe this to be the case at all though. I look for a trade demand by December.

Report: Jazz owner says Sloan will make time to praise AK

Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller told a Salt Lake City radio station that he believes a half-hour meeting between coach Jerry Sloan and disgruntled forward Andrei Kirilenko, in which Sloan was asked to balance his criticism with praise, helped convince Kirilenko to stand down from his trade demand, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.


In an interview on KFNZ-AM, Miller said that during the meeting with Sloan and general manager Kevin O'Connor, Kirilenko said he would accept Sloan's criticism as long as Sloan was willing to offer equal amounts of praise, according to the report.

"It is incumbent on Jerry to make a reasonable adjustment. That's not to say kiss his butt," said Miller, according to the Tribune. Miller also called Kirilenko "one of the 10 best players in the league."

Sloan, when asked about Miller's on-air comments at Jazz training camp in Boise, Idaho, said he would "do anything" to bring out the best in Kirilenko, according to the Tribune. "I hold myself accountable for those situations that come up. Do what we can to try to help him. I hope that I can get that done."

Just after leading Russia to the European championship last month, Kirilenko said he wanted the Jazz to trade him or release him. He said he had grown miserable playing for Sloan, who is well-known for his gruff demeanor, and felt like a "robot."

But Monday, after meeting with Sloan, Kirilenko steered clear of those comments, saying "I've already said everything. All I can do right now is concentrate on basketball."

Did the face-to-face meeting convince Sloan to change his approach?

"It all depends on who's judging,'' Sloan said, according to the Tribune. "Anytime that things don't go well, you're always considered a negative coach. When a player's not happy, that's usually the first thing that comes out. That's something we don't want to be. We want to be positive.

"I was positive with my teammates when I played. Maybe I've overlooked some of that in my coaching, but I've always felt like that I've been positive. There comes a time that you have to correct people and if that's being negative, then I'll have to accept that."

The Jazz are coming off their best season in 10 years, reaching the Western Conference finals in their first playoff appearance since 2003.