Utah Jazz: Candid Kirilenko shows no animosity over role with Jazz
Between trips to France (no worries, the visa paperwork went through for his family trip), Russia and China, this will be a jam-packed offseason for the forward.
Whether or not Kirilenko will return to the Beehive State and tell his traveling tales as a member of the Utah Jazz in a few months is a question rattling through inquiring minds now that the team's season is over.
As far as Kirilenko is concerned, that question needn't be asked.
"Well, I have (a) contract," he said Saturday, "so I'll definitely be here."
Of course, Kirilenko also had a contract — three years and oodles of cash remain on it now — when he made headlines last summer about his displeasure with his role on the Jazz. A trade even seemed likely before the 2007-08 season.
Fast forward a year — but not quite as far as the France trip — and Kirilenko is giving no indication that he is unhappy with anything other than being eliminated by the Lakers.
"This was very good season for us," Kirilenko said at the Jazz's locker cleanup session. "But we haven't done the main goal yet. We need to win the finals."
And, yes, that came as a surprise to him — and others — after his 2007 summer vents to Russian media were followed by vents made about him by Deron Williams to Utah media.
Even if the miscommunication that led to his excused-but-distracting absence from Thursday's practice made some wonder if he was more interested in vacation plans than preparing for Game 6, it appears the international crisis has been resolved.
He even called this "the best year of my career."
"It was definitely better than expected," Kirilenko admitted. "I was kind of worried about this year."
So, obviously, were the Jazz. But management and Kirilenko smoothed things out prior to training camp, something that helped the 27-year-old tweak his attitude for the better.
"We had a really good conversation with coach before the year. We tried to be very polite. The year was great. Mental part of it was great," he said. "The game — nothing really changed much, but I kind of changed my priorities. I was trying to concentrate on helping my teammates more."
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan knew Kirilenko was dissatisfied with his role, so he said the Jazz tried "to accommodate him" more and communication improved (usually). With Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and Mehmet Okur, the Jazz couldn't hand the offense over to Kirilenko, but they tried to involve him more.
Recent comments
It is a big mistake to bypass Hornacek for sloan, We need a three...
the dog | May 24, 2008 at 1:51 a.m.
Hey,
Your right, sign all the young guys long term and i love...
Re: Perfect Timing II | May 22, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
DUMP KIRILENKO AND BOOZER.
Sokol | May 21, 2008 at 10:24 a.m.
