Kirilenko feels 'good' — for now

One month of preseason play and one firestorm of controversy later, Andrei Kirilenko actually smiles when asked how he's doing.

"I feel good," the Jazz's starting small forward said prior to practice Sunday.

When Kirilenko says what he does, he seems to truly mean it.

Perhaps that is because after making a stink in the offseason about not wanting to continue playing for coach Jerry Sloan in Utah, the air over Salt Lake City seems to have cleared significantly.

More opportunity for Kirilenko to be involved in what the Jazz are doing, particularly on the offensive end of the floor, has been created since the 2004 NBA All-Star from Russia spoke out.

There will be more post-up opportunities, more times that the ball goes through his hands than it did last year, more minutes at shooting guard in addition to his usual duties at the 3 spot as well.

Perhaps more importantly than all that, there has been all sorts of positive feedback from Sloan — which is precisely what Kirilenko seemingly sought most.

"He's been great," Sloan said. "You know, people talk a lot all the time. I've had situations where guys have talked a lot — but their job is still to play basketball, and he's approached it that way and tried to do the best he can."

Sloan somehow has managed to walk the fine line between catering to Kirilenko's needs but not alienating teammates who might not be so sensitive.

"I've got other people I have to coach besides Andrei," the Jazz coach said. "(But) we know that he's very, very important to our team — and we need to do all we can to get it out of him and see if he can help us win games. That's the bottom line.

"I think time will tell," Sloan added, "how all that works itself out."

As for whether communication between the two has improved, however, Sloan is as candid as he is noncommittal.

"I don't know if it has or not," he said. "I've tried to be as positive and as honest as I know how to be."

OUTSIDE OPINION: According to one online gambling site, and purely for the sake of perspective, odds are 20-1 on the Jazz winning this season's NBA title and 11-1 on them winning the Western Conference championship.

Nine other teams have better odds at winning the title than Utah, including favorite San Antonio at 7-2.