From Deseret News archives:
Jazz brass dispute AK trade talk
"It's totally unwarranted," said O'Connor, the Jazz's basketball operations senior vice president. "So, let's put this to bed: We are not looking to trade Andrei Kirilenko. Period."
The Jazz have received multiple trade calls from other clubs inquiring about Kirilenko over the past several days, all prompted by radio comments from Jazz owner Larry H. Miller that the forward from Russia may be "on thin ice" because of a combination of poor play of late and public comments about wanting more touches of the ball.
"I think the comments that Larry made — if you read the whole thing, I don't think it talked about trading him," O'Connor said. "It talked about him getting better and improving and playing up to the level that he's capable of."
The fact calls came, O'Connor added, only served to boost the Jazz's belief that their trust in the well-compensated Kirilenko is well-placed.
"It shows you interest level," he said. "It shows you what people think of him, too. So, that should tell us something."
MILES THRIVING: Jazz shooting guard C.J. Miles is thriving in the D-League, averaging 17.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 31.2 points in six games for the affiliate Idaho Stampede.
He had 20 points and made 7-of-9 shots from the field in helping Idaho to its 11th straight win Sunday.
E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com
