Williams not worried about A.K.

Andrei Kirilenko isn't talking, but one of his teammates was Friday.

In an interview on 1280 The Zone's "Big Show," Jazz point guard Deron Williams made it clear he thinks the Jazz need Kirilenko, but he also directed some criticism at the former All-Star who has made it known he wants out of Utah.

"It would definitely hurt us," Williams said of the possibility of losing Kirilenko. "But at the same time, you don't want to sit across in the locker room from somebody who doesn't want to be there."

Williams did say Kirilenko's recent comments are "just words" and that he expected his teammate to be in camp.

"He can be a special player for us," Williams said. "There's not too many guys in the NBA that can fill up a stat sheet like he can."

The third-year point guard, however, also alluded to Kirilenko's work ethic.

"You see guys, you see Booz (Carlos Boozer) after practice shooting for 25-30 minutes, you see Memo (Mehmet Okur) shooting for 20 minutes, you see all the rookies, the young guys, you see Hafa (Rafael Araujo) in there working, and you see Andrei being the first guy out the door," Williams said. "He's coming off a screen on one side, and Matt Harpring's coming off a screen on one side, who do you think you're gonna pass to? You think you're gonna pass to the guy you see working every day in the gym? Or you gonna pass to the guy who never works on his shot but wants to shoot ... "

Kirilenko, apparently told by his agent to avoid any more interviews or controversy for the time being, has gone more than a day now without telling a Russian news agency about his desire to leave the Utah Jazz.

But the damage has been done. Kirilenko, in no uncertain terms, has said he doesn't want to play for the Jazz — or, more specifically, for Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. He would like to be traded to another NBA team, but if that doesn't happen, he told Russian newspaper Sport Express that he would be willing to walk away from his contract — a deal that still has four years and $63 million remaining on it.

Williams, however, doesn't see that happening.

"I don't see anybody walking away from $60 million," he said.