Media day report
If I was an Andrei Kirilenko fan hoping for a happy ending with the Jazz, I wouldn't be encouraged by what happened Monday at media day.
Faced with the opportunity to step up and address his recent comments, Kirilenko took the easy way out and left a trail of "no comments" behind him.
It's simply unacceptable for Kirilenko not to account for his feelings. It's unacceptable for him to do an interview on KSL and then say he's done talking about things 18 hours later when the venue shifts from a single reporter at his house to 20 at the Jazz practice facility.
Most unbelievable is that Kirilenko says he's done talking about his issues because he doesn't believe in bringing in negatives at the start of training camp. Consider that this whole thing started because he chose to vent to a Russian blog 12 days before camp.
Three of Kirilenko's comments will undoubtedly prompt some discussion:
He said his entire focus in camp will be on working hard ("I think it's hard work, just work hard in practice and try to get in the best shape as possible.") Yet Kirilenko's work ethic was questioned by Deron Williams and cited as one of his underlying problems as a player.
Kirilenko said he didn't want his problems to be shared by his teammates ("We're coming into the preseason camp and I don't want guys to feel bad about it. That's only my situation, so it shouldn't affect anyone else.")
The problem being that several of Kirilenko's teammates now have to worry whether they'll wind up, sooner or later, included as a piece in a Kirilenko deal. After all, very few NBA trades involve swapping one player for another.
Kirilenko caused enough of a stir that one Jazz player was asking me about the KSL interview and speculating whether Kirilenko was in the building meeting with Jerry Sloan and Kevin O'Connor at that moment.
Kirilenko also blamed reporters for blowing up the issue and mischaracterizing his relationship with Sloan. ("We never have a conflict with Jerry. You create it. Sometimes you have misunderstanding, but it's not a conflict.")
It almost defies belief that Kirilenko could say this given his criticism of Sloan in the Russian interviews.
Sloan even used the word "conflict" in describing things Monday. And Kirilenko was asked how he could claim things were overblown when both he and Sloan spent so much time last season deconstructing their relationship.
"Guys, again, let's not talk about that," he said. "We come into preseason camp, we want to work hard and we want to concentrate on basketball, not on this kind of things."
At a minimum, Kirilenko should have apologized to the Jazz and his teammates for the distraction he has caused/will cause and acknowledged that voicing his frustration so close to the start of the season was the most counterproductive thing he could have done.
He also should have talked about finding a way to build on his success at the European championships, no matter the team, coach or system he's playing in/for.
* * *
I asked Sloan pointblank if he was upset about having a team that made such strides in advancing to the Western Conference finals starting this season with all the focus on one player (Kirilenko) for all the wrong reasons.
"I can't be upset because it isn't going to make me any happier if I stay upset," Sloan said. "I just hate to have to sit and answer all your questions. It's the same thing every time something like this comes up. This is the most important thing we can talk about.
"The most important thing to me to talk about is the basketball. And this is not basketball. It is to a certain extent, but basketball is about getting out and performing and playing and helping each other and dying with each other and those things.
"I know this is a very important part to a lot of people, but this is not the part I think is important because those things can be handled most of the time without people ever knowing about it."
* * * Through the Kirilenko saga, O'Connor has regularly cited the various Karl Malone fires that the Jazz had to put out in the past. He did so again Monday.
"It seems to me that there was another guy that did that [made trade demands] every once in a while here," O'Connor said. "I don't remember if that's true or not. But he seemed to come and play pretty good."
* * *
The Jazz finally re-signed C.J. Miles on Monday and O'Connor clearly was tired of talking about the subject. He described Miles' contract situation as receiving "inordinate attention" this summer, considering how little Miles has played in his first two NBA seasons.
"I don't know what else to say," O'Connor said. "We gave him a 40 percent raise and signed him for another year. I think that means we wanted him back on the team. Now there's certainly posturing and trying to get a longer-term contract, but everybody in the league does that."
* * *
Answering questions about Kirilenko and Sloan, Jazz forward Matt Harpring referenced the seasons he lived through in Philadelphia with Allen Iverson and Larry Brown continually at odds.
"They had many, many differences and they seemed to work [them] out and that's what you do," Harpring said. "Professional sports is not as rosy as everyone thinks it is sometimes."
--Ross Siler
Faced with the opportunity to step up and address his recent comments, Kirilenko took the easy way out and left a trail of "no comments" behind him.
It's simply unacceptable for Kirilenko not to account for his feelings. It's unacceptable for him to do an interview on KSL and then say he's done talking about things 18 hours later when the venue shifts from a single reporter at his house to 20 at the Jazz practice facility.
Most unbelievable is that Kirilenko says he's done talking about his issues because he doesn't believe in bringing in negatives at the start of training camp. Consider that this whole thing started because he chose to vent to a Russian blog 12 days before camp.
Three of Kirilenko's comments will undoubtedly prompt some discussion:
He said his entire focus in camp will be on working hard ("I think it's hard work, just work hard in practice and try to get in the best shape as possible.") Yet Kirilenko's work ethic was questioned by Deron Williams and cited as one of his underlying problems as a player.
Kirilenko said he didn't want his problems to be shared by his teammates ("We're coming into the preseason camp and I don't want guys to feel bad about it. That's only my situation, so it shouldn't affect anyone else.")
The problem being that several of Kirilenko's teammates now have to worry whether they'll wind up, sooner or later, included as a piece in a Kirilenko deal. After all, very few NBA trades involve swapping one player for another.
Kirilenko caused enough of a stir that one Jazz player was asking me about the KSL interview and speculating whether Kirilenko was in the building meeting with Jerry Sloan and Kevin O'Connor at that moment.
Kirilenko also blamed reporters for blowing up the issue and mischaracterizing his relationship with Sloan. ("We never have a conflict with Jerry. You create it. Sometimes you have misunderstanding, but it's not a conflict.")
It almost defies belief that Kirilenko could say this given his criticism of Sloan in the Russian interviews.
Sloan even used the word "conflict" in describing things Monday. And Kirilenko was asked how he could claim things were overblown when both he and Sloan spent so much time last season deconstructing their relationship.
"Guys, again, let's not talk about that," he said. "We come into preseason camp, we want to work hard and we want to concentrate on basketball, not on this kind of things."
At a minimum, Kirilenko should have apologized to the Jazz and his teammates for the distraction he has caused/will cause and acknowledged that voicing his frustration so close to the start of the season was the most counterproductive thing he could have done.
He also should have talked about finding a way to build on his success at the European championships, no matter the team, coach or system he's playing in/for.
* * *
I asked Sloan pointblank if he was upset about having a team that made such strides in advancing to the Western Conference finals starting this season with all the focus on one player (Kirilenko) for all the wrong reasons.
"I can't be upset because it isn't going to make me any happier if I stay upset," Sloan said. "I just hate to have to sit and answer all your questions. It's the same thing every time something like this comes up. This is the most important thing we can talk about.
"The most important thing to me to talk about is the basketball. And this is not basketball. It is to a certain extent, but basketball is about getting out and performing and playing and helping each other and dying with each other and those things.
"I know this is a very important part to a lot of people, but this is not the part I think is important because those things can be handled most of the time without people ever knowing about it."
* * * Through the Kirilenko saga, O'Connor has regularly cited the various Karl Malone fires that the Jazz had to put out in the past. He did so again Monday.
"It seems to me that there was another guy that did that [made trade demands] every once in a while here," O'Connor said. "I don't remember if that's true or not. But he seemed to come and play pretty good."
* * *
The Jazz finally re-signed C.J. Miles on Monday and O'Connor clearly was tired of talking about the subject. He described Miles' contract situation as receiving "inordinate attention" this summer, considering how little Miles has played in his first two NBA seasons.
"I don't know what else to say," O'Connor said. "We gave him a 40 percent raise and signed him for another year. I think that means we wanted him back on the team. Now there's certainly posturing and trying to get a longer-term contract, but everybody in the league does that."
* * *
Answering questions about Kirilenko and Sloan, Jazz forward Matt Harpring referenced the seasons he lived through in Philadelphia with Allen Iverson and Larry Brown continually at odds.
"They had many, many differences and they seemed to work [them] out and that's what you do," Harpring said. "Professional sports is not as rosy as everyone thinks it is sometimes."
--Ross Siler
12:44 AM
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4 Comments:
Did not like this post at all.
you said: "It's simply unacceptable for Kirilenko not to account for his feelings." But Ak has already laid it all out on the table, what more do you want?
He has said all he wants to say and he doesn't want to say more. Why is that a problem for you? Because it makes your job a little more difficult?
And I see no contradiction in AK saying he doesn't have a problem with Jerry Sloan, yet that he wants to play for a different coach. Even in those Russian articles he praised Sloan as a great coach. they just don't go together, and he would prefer a different style.
How is that so hard to understand? It seems like you might need an english translator for your interviews with AK. I'd be happy to volunteer.
Good scott.
Point the First: Stop whining about the fact that AK isn't coming to you and handing off a typewritten copy of his opinions to run in the next day's dime rag. Throughout this whole dramatic mess, we heard such wonderful comments as "it's time for AK to stop talking to Russian media and give an interview in English."
YOU'RE A REPORTER. REPORT. You had all summer to get in contact with a guy obviously unhappy with the team at the end of the season. Instead, you chose to copy-and-paste commentary from various newspapers, interviews, and sources not created by the SLTrib and then speculated on them like message board-dwelling lowlifes such as myself. You have the tools to find this out on your own. Don't blame him.
Point the Second: Yes, Deron questioned his work ethic. Yes, AK said he'd work hard and he's always worked hard. WHY ARE YOU GIVING DERON THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT? He's been here two years and had an obvious stretch during the first year where he looked positively droopy on the court. And now, for some reason, he is now the Arbiter of Hard Work.
In fact, it might be a good idea to retire the concept of "hard work" on the site. But then again, that would cut down on half the content.
Point the Third: Why do you suddenly care about AK building on his successes at EuroBasket? You didn't even cover them! At best, we got AP articles on the subject. EuroBasket IS A BIG DEAL. I SHOULD NOT BE MORE INFORMED ON THIS SUBJECT THAN THE WRITERS COVERING THE TEAM.
Point the Fourth: Is it unacceptable that AK is done talking to reporters after his TV interview in concept or just because he didn't choose to talk to SLTrib? I think his feeling should be pretty bloody clear by now for anyone able to read.
Sure, AK deserves to be held to the fire for many things, specifically his decision to blame the media for making it a big deal (any trade request is a big deal, Andrei) and the timing of his comments.
But don't blame him for your own shortcomings.
tatermoog - WELL SAID. Luhm, your journalistic skills leave much to be desired. Your job is to report, not to present other people's legwork as your own and then complain. Try and provide some meaningful insight, PLEASE.
Sorry, the criticism should have been directed at Siler (not Luhm), as he was the one who wrote the post. However, the lack of first-hand reporting applies to all of the Jazz writers for the Tribune.
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