Jazz expect A.K. to be in camp

Andrei Kirilenko may not want to be a member of the Utah Jazz anymore, but that doesn't mean he won't be with the team when training camp opens on Oct. 2 in Boise.

"We have a contract with (Kirilenko), and we expect him to be back," said Jazz vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor on Wednesday.

O'Connor was responding to questions after a blog on Russian Web site Sport Today, presumably written by Kirilenko and posted Tuesday, told of his hoping to get a fresh start outside of Utah. The original blog, in Russian, can be found at: http://www.sports.ru/blog/kirilenko.

Kirilenko led Russia to the European championship for the first time in 22 years over the weekend, scoring a team-high 17 points in the title win over host Spain. He had 29 points and three blocks in Russia's semifinal victory

over Lithuania. He was named the MVP of the tournament, averaging 18 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.

After the high of winning the European title for his homeland, Kirilenko is not too excited about returning for the 2007-08 NBA season.

"In a week, I should arrive at training camp, but honestly I don't feel too happy about it," Kirilenko wrote, as translated to English for the Deseret Morning News. "Last season was unsuccessful and a serious disappointment. I have thought a lot about this and have come to the decision that I want to leave Utah."

Kirilenko praised his Russian national coach David Blatt, saying that they shared "mutual understanding and respect." The 26-year-old forward apparently doesn't share that same respect with his Jazz coach. Kirilenko alternated praise with criticism for Jerry Sloan in his blog entry.

"Sloan is also a legendary coach," Kirilenko wrote. "He has a lot of experience behind him. He has developed many great players and more than once taken Utah to the NBA Finals. However, his style and system don't completely suit me. I am grateful to Sloan that he gave me a chance to realize myself as an NBA player. Thanks to him I became an All-Star in 2004. I think that his big accomplishment was that I was able to sign a large contract."

Kirilenko has not been happy with Sloan in recent seasons, particularly last season when his scoring average dropped to 8.3 points — down from a 13-point average during his first five seasons in the NBA and a career-high 16.5 points in the 2003-04 season.