Utah Jazz ask Kirilenko to bulk up frame

If you happen to see Andrei Kirilenko going back and forth between the Moscow Chuck-A-Rama all-you-can-eat buffet and the Red Square Gold's Gym this summer, there's a good explanation.

In his year-end performance evaluation, the lean and lanky Russian athlete was told he needed to pack on some pounds. Jazz bosses are hoping the small forward doesn't return next season as such a, well, small forward. They want more beef on his bones.

Those might be welcome words for many people, who could probably also handle the $16 million paycheck awaiting him after his offseason of pumping iron and plumping up.

But for Kirilenko, this news wasn't exactly easy to swallow. He started the 2008-09 season weighing 226 pounds and said he shed eight pounds over the course of the hectic NBA year.

Kirilenko didn't view his weight as a problem. For one thing, he's a basketball player, not a heavyweight boxer — despite some resemblances that suggest otherwise. Plus, his weight loss followed a predictable pattern in which he usually drops about 10 pounds a season.

"I never feel like it's been an issue," Kirilenko said. "I've never concentrate on that in my life and in my career, but obviously it's been brought up to my attention so I will try to concentrate on that a little bit more.

"I will do whatever possible," he added, "whatever coach wants from me."

Though Jazz personnel didn't admit this, it's quite possible the organization would like him to beef up his 6-foot-9 frame so he can bang around a bit more next season as a power forward instead of primarily as a swingman. The team, after all, could lose both Carlos Boozer (potential unrestricted free agent) and Paul Millsap (restricted free agent) for 2009-10, and Kirilenko has played well in the 4-spot over the years.

What Jazz coach Jerry Sloan did recently claim, though, is that Kirilenko's play last season seemed to decline as his waistline diminished. The eight-year veteran reportedly returned from midseason ankle surgery a bit thinner.

"I think he had his moments where he played pretty well when he was coming off the bench," Sloan said. "Then he went through a stage where he lost some weight, his weight went down and I think that hurt him."

Kirilenko didn't exactly see it that way.

"I don't understand why it's brought up to my attention," he said.

That doesn't, however, mean he's preparing for a tumultuous summer a la '07. In fact, he plans on following his superiors' suggestion.

"I'm not frustrated. Don't get me wrong," he said. "It's Jazz job to control us and try to bring those points to our attention. I'm under contract, so I will try to do what they want from me."

Ah, like Tchaikovsky to his coach's ears.