A.K.'s rants not so bad

LOS ANGELES — If the Jazz think dealing with Andrei Kirilenko's offseason rants has been a pain, they need only consider Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers to realize how much worse it can be.

Bryant's wish to be traded, Lakers owner Jerry Buss' desire to make it happen and the reluctance of coach Phil Jackson and general manager Mitch Kupchak to deal a bona fide superstar make the Kirilenko saga seem like ho-hum hullabaloo.

In fact, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan suggested before Utah played the Lakers on Sunday night here, media-related fallout of Kirilenko's summer trade request hasn't proven all that problematic.

"I haven't had that question asked too many times," Sloan said. "I figured it would be more than what it is."

Besides, Sloan suggested, he can't control how much of a distraction such a situation becomes.

"It's up to the player. I can't do anything about it," he said. "I mean, he handles it however he wants to handle it or whatever he feels. He has to do what he has to do."

Asked if he's comfortable with how Kirilenko has handled matters since the season started, Sloan said, "I haven't had any problem with it."

Nor, Sloan would have you believe, does he closely monitor what is said.

"I don't watch the television to see," he said. "I don't listen to the radio. And ... I don't read the paper."

As for trade requests, Sloan maintains they're just part of the business basketball has become.

"Those things — what can you do about 'em?" he asked. "It's like losing a player ... you can sit around and feel sorry for yourself, or you can go play the game and try to get somebody else ready to play.

"Obviously you want great players on your team. But if Andrei (Kirilenko) hadn't come back, I mean, we would have still played the game. If I hadn't been here, there would be somebody else coach," Sloan added. "It doesn't make any difference who's here. We have to try to do the best we can, and coach who's here, and coach the attitudes that we have to deal with, and go on."

Off-court controversy, Sloan suggested, simply has become part of the game.

"There's always going to be distractions. There's always going to be someone that's probably not really happy with what they're making money-wise, or they're not happy with the number of shots they get," he said. "It's not a perfect world to deal with ... But you go on about your business and do your job. That's all I know. If they replace you, they replace you. I don't worry about that."