Utah Jazz: Williams rips Kirilenko
The Jazz point guard says his disgruntled teammate needs to work harder on his game
The Jazz point guard says the forward was 'the first one out the door' after practice
By Steve Luhm
The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah point guard Deron Williams wants Andrei Kirilenko back with the Jazz next season, but hopes his unhappy teammate brings an improved work ethic with him.
In a Friday afternoon radio interview on 1280 The Zone, Williams told Salt Lake Tribune columnist Gordon Monson and co-host Kevin Graham that Kirilenko can be "a special player for us" if he returns with the right attitude.
Referring to teammates Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur, Williams said, "You see Booz after practice shooting for 25 or 30 minutes. You see Memo shooting for 20 minutes. You see, you know, all the rookies. The young guys. You saw [Rafael Araujo] in there working. [Then] you see Andrei being the first one out the door."
As the Jazz's quarterback, Williams admitted he has looked for other targets with his passes because of Kirilenko's approach to the game last season.
"If he's coming off a screen on one side and Matt [Harpring] is coming off a screen on one side, who do you think you're going to pass to?" Williams said.
"You think you're going to pass to the guy you see working every day in the gym or are you going to pass to the guy who never works on his shot but yet wants to shoot 'em every time?"
Asked if Kirilenko's work ethic was a problem, Williams said, "I would say so."
Kirilenko averaged 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds last season, when the Jazz won 51 games during the regular season and reached the Western Conference finals.
Those numbers are about half of what Kirilenko produced during his best season in 2003-04, when he averaged 16.5 points and 8.1 rebounds.
After leading Russia to the EuroLeague championship last week, Kirilenko was named the tournament MVP and lashed out at the Jazz and veteran coach Jerry Sloan. He demanded a trade and eventually suggested he was so unhappy that he might walk away from the $63 million that remains on his contract, which runs through 2011.
"I haven't been paying much attention to it," Williams said. "[But] I'll bet he's here on the first" of October.
The Jazz open training camp Oct. 2 in Boise.
"I've said before, we need Andrei," Williams said. "He's a great player for us. He can be a special player for us. There are not too many guys in the NBA who can come up and attack you like he can.
"He had a great EuroLeague tournament over there. He played well, got the MVP. I'm sure his confidence is up. But I don't see anyone walking away from $60 million."
What if Kirilenko does not return?
"It will definitely hurt us," Williams said. "But at the same time, guys don't want to sit across the locker room from a guy who doesn't want to be here. . . . I love Andrei - like him as a player, like him as a person. He can definitely be a special player for us. But he's not going to average 20 points a game."
Williams suggested that part of his job next season will be to help Kirilenko regain the confidence he lost last year: "I've got to get him ways to get him more touches, where he's comfortable and not just shooting jumpers because that's really not A.K.'s game. He'll be the first one to tell you that.
"But he can still work. . . . If you work on your shot, it's going to improve. Just because you can't shoot doesn't mean you shouldn't work on it - shouldn't mean you just give up on it. We definitely need to find ways - post him up more, [get him] slashing to the basket more. Find ways to utilize him within the offense."
Williams defended Sloan, who has been a target of harsh criticism from Kirilenko.
"I'm trying to win," Williams said. "I could be mad at Coach Sloan. I could hate Coach Sloan more than anything. But I'm still going to play for him, still going to play hard."
In a story published Friday in Russia's Sport-Express, Kirilenko repeated his desire to leave Utah and sever ties with the Jazz and Sloan.
"For the past two years, I've been going on the court and acting like a robot," Kirilenko told the newspaper. "When I signed my contract, the future looked completely different."
Jazz vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor said earlier this week that Kirilenko is under contract and is expected for the start of training camp. Contacted Friday night, O'Connor declined any further comment.
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