"He's seemed to be upbeat in what we do in practice every day. He hasn't shown any animosity toward me or anything else. He's tried to do his job, and that's all we ask."

Sloan also reiterated that he likes to have content players.

"I'm always happy when a player is happy and is able to play well. That's my job," he said.

"I'm definitely happy he's here," said Williams, the point guard who admitted last year he sometimes passed to other players who were more likely to make shots. "We love him on this team. I think he's a great part of this team. A reason we're so successful is the way he's been playing all year."

Boozer noted that the September discord wasn't easy.

"That was a tough time, especially for Coach, and I think for us, because we thought we had a good run last year (to the Western Conference Finals) and wanted to come back, but Andrei is playing great this season," he said, calling Kirilenko "a big part" of Utah's current run.

Boozer had nothing but good to say about Kirilenko, the person, and said that has been consistent.

"AK's always been, off the court, the same way — always been a great guy, always been very fun, always, you know, having team events at his house, always been a great teammate.

"But basketball-wise, he's better this year than he was last year. I think we can all agree on that," Boozer said.

Kirilenko said that, even in September, he would have put his odds of being a Jazzman for the full season at 100 percent.

"I have a contract, and you know, I have 3 1/2 more years, so I'm a Jazz player, and nothing has changed."

And now, "We're playing pretty good. That makes you feel even better."

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E-mail: lham@desnews.com