Nets reportedly interested in A.K.

OKLAHOMA CITY — According to a Bergen (N.J.) Record report Saturday citing unidentified "sources," New Jersey has offered to trade All-Star Vince Carter to the Jazz for forward Andrei Kirilenko.

Jazz basketball boss Kevin O'Connor and Jazz coach Jerry Sloan both have made it abundantly clear they have no plans to deal Kirilenko, an All-Star in 2004.

Still, Kirilenko — who doesn't appear interested in leaving Utah, either — seemed flattered the Nets supposedly were willing to part with a player of Carter's caliber in an effort to obtain him.

"It's hard to comment," he said after missing Saturday's loss to New Orleans/Oklahoma City with a sprained right ankle. "I mean, I always think Vince Carter is a great player. He actually is one of my favorite players. It feels good — but nobody likes to be traded."

O'Connor received multiple trade calls regarding Kirilenko after Jazz owner Larry H. Miller spoke about the forward from Russia during a recent radio appearance.

Miller said Kirilenko was "on thin ice" because of poor play and public complaints about not getting enough touches of the ball, and — in response to a direct question about Kirilenko trade talk — suggested the matter would resolve itself one way or another by next month's NBA All-Star break.

That apparently prompted interest in Kirilenko from the Nets, who, according to the Bergen newspaper, also offered Carter for Memphis big man Pau Gasol and Seattle shooting guard Ray Allen — also both former All-Stars.

"Some league sources expect Carter to be moved before the (NBA's) Feb. 22 trade deadline," the Record reported. "He's the player the Nets are dangling the most, but they won't give him up unless they get an All-Star in return.

"But the Nets are finding Carter isn't as valuable around the NBA as they consider him, partly because he can opt out of his contract after the season and become a free agent. Before trading for him, most teams ... would want to know he's going to sign an extension. But Carter can't even say he would sign with the Nets at this point."

The likelihood of his signing a long-term deal with the Jazz? On a scale of slim-to-none, that probably borders on never-in-a-million-years.

Carter — whose Nets visit Utah on Monday — reportedly responded to the trade chatter news with a shrug.