I hate all of this talk. I hate to think that AK will be wearing another uniform going into next season. I really hate that it has come to this. I have a couple of thoughts…
Number one:
If I am Larry Miller and I have to make a choice between Jerry Sloan and Andrei Kirilenko I am choosing AK. I would not have said this five years ago, as I tend to agree with the Millers philosophy of protecting your coach, but it is not five years ago. Isn’t Sloan the guy that will not commit to coaching the team beyond the next season? Isn’t he the guy that says he may wake up one morning and decide that coaching is no longer for him? Every offseason we wonder if he is going to retire and if he is honest, he would tell you that he wonders the same thing.
The question is: why would we trade one of the most unique talents in the league to protect a coach that may or may not be around next year? Nobody talks about this and it drives me nuts. Furthermore, I believe that with the right coach the Jazz, as they are presently constituted, have a serious chance of winning it all.
I am a realist though, and I know that Sloan is not going anywhere.
Number two: I think Jazz fans are too hard on AK for complaining. People tend to think that making millions of dollars makes you immune to being normal. I contend that it is normal for people to complain when they are not satisfied with their work… especially highly competitive, ultra-driven, professional athletes. Picture that you are on the fast track at your place of employment, that you love what you are doing and that you have shown serious value. You provide leadership, you are the one negotiating and closing the deals. Your company decides that they think you are hot stuff and give you a raise; you are on top of the world.
Can you picture that?
Now imagine that two new guys are hired and you are blatantly demoted. Instead of negotiating and closing deals you are the guy taking notes in the meetings. Not only are your responsibilities taken away, which completely ticks you off, but your boss humiliates you in front of your coworkers, belittling you because of your salary, something that you legitimately earned. No normal person would just let that slide and be a “team player.” You would be miserable and you would let a few people know.
Not only would you let some people know, but you might not try as hard as you used to. After all, your contributions are no longer appreciated like they once were. They may tell you that you are an intrigal part of the team and that your notes are needed to be successful, but no matter how often they tell you that, you know what you are capable of and you long to contribute at that level again.
Andrei is no different. It is not about the money, it is about contributing. At the expense of sounding like Chris Crocker, we should all leave AK alone and let him handle this. I would prefer he not do things through the media, but he is just reacting in his way and everyone reading this, given the circumstances above, would react in their own way.
September 20th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Nice peice, (that is the kind of objectional writing that gets you places)
I”m a huge Sloan fan, i have been for a long time. BUt you make a very strong point. If we let AK go, and especially if he goes to a contender like the Suns, he will win a championship, even if somehow he ended up in a place like Boston, they will have a better shot at the title than the Jazz. The Jazz will gain nothing by trading Kirilenko, but they will gain much if they let go of Sloan. Since Sloan is so stubborn and set in his way of coaching, (which usually wins) he is unable to utilize his players properly, unless it is the pick and roll with the PG-PF. There are other ways of winning. Think of a few of the players that have been lost because of not fitting into Sloans way of coaching. (i fear Brewer will be next) AK is a rare talent, and if all that is needed to bring that talent out, is an occasional compliment, and an opportunity, then give it to him. I still think that if AK will be willing to come off the Bench, both the Jazz and AK will benefit. We would win a championship in a heart beat if Sloan would relax a notch and cater to AK just enough to give him confidence. An AK is well worth it when he is confident. Between O’Conner, Sloan, and Miller, There is too much MAcho Pride in the management of this organization.
Give any… ANY COACH D-Will, Boozer, Memo, and a fully capable(physically and mentally) AK-47, and they will find at least 50 wins.
September 20th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Mcsean,
you make a decent point that millionaires still have normal human feelings, but your analogy suffers a little bit. Andrei only got demoted in terms of offense. But he still gets as much work as the two new employees. Also the two new employees are better at offense and AK might be the best at “taking notes.” I would be able to find satisfaction in realizing that I was the best person in the company at doing one thing, even if it was just taking notes. Add on the fact that I make more than the two new employees and I just have a different role. I could learn to be happy doing that. AK can still be the focal point of the defense and provide the extra things to the team. And if you are really unsatisfied with your job, then wait out your contract. There is no excuse for millionaire ball players to be so sad. Do you feel bad for Kobe? Paul Pierce? Kevin Garnett? You can see why they would be frustrated, but there’s no excuse for the tantrums they throw.
September 20th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
I almost always agree with the stuff I read on this site until today. I completely disagree with the points that were raised. Letting a hall of fame coach go to appease a non-hall of fame player is ludicrous. I do agree that AK is a special talent and the Jazz are a better team with him on the roster. But, AK doesn’t want to accept being a role player; he wants to be the star (like he was for team Russia). I don’t know one person who thinks AK should be a higher scoring option than Booze, D-Will and Memo…oh wait I do know one, AK. Until that changes, AK’s attitude will be a cancer for this team next season.
In you second point you failed to mention that after the hire of these “new employees (Booze, D-Will, etc.)” the company went on to achieve more success than when you held that position. At this point, the “demoted employee” has two choices: feel forgotten and long for the glory years of mediocrity or swallow his pride and try to make the team better any way he can. AK has made it abundantly clear which path he has chosen.
September 20th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
If the Jazz replaced Sloan, do you think that would Andrei Kirilenko would be more involved in the offense, and would that help or harm the Jazz? Kirilenko’s success came on the defensive end first, and his offense followed. The Jazz can get Andrei’s offensive ability from a player willing to play for much less. Kirilenko’s defense is what makes him valuable — offensively, the Jazz might as well run a play for Giricek or Harpring.
Looking at Okur, Williams, and Boozer, Kirilenko probably SHOULDN’T be getting 20 shots a game. Sure, Kirilenko is underutilized offensively when you consider he only averaged 6 shots a game. If Kirilenko can score 20 points off eight shots as he did in the EuroBasket, why can’t he be happy shooting 8-10 shots on a team with three other All-Stars?
September 20th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Another brief comment about AK: his EuroBasket tourney averages. 18 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.2 spg, & 1.8 bpg.
Definitely impressive, but what I found interesting was that he averaged “high” amount of points, and a “low” amount of blocks — at least for his standard. Kirilenko could have reasonably averaged four blocks per game. He played unexpectedly well on offense, and somewhat mediocre defensively…
Kirilenk said that EuroBasket was a chance to prove he could still play at an All-Star level. More accurately, I think he wanted to prove that he deserved more shots, and that he could be a scoring threat. While that’s not necessarily a problem, you can see his motives were a little on the selfish side by looking to demand more shots.
September 21st, 2007 at 3:46 am
Two quick comments. First, on the main article, I have mixed feelings, but certainly understand the main point being advanced. Five years ago I’d say keep Sloan at all costs, but McSean’s main argument is fairly convincing.
As for low blocks at Eurobasket, I don’t think that’s a surprise. I think that has much more to do with the international game than with anything AK did. I remember checking blocks stats at both the Tournament of the Americas and Eurobasket and found them surprisingly low by NBA standards. If you think about the international game, however, which features far fewer drives to the baskets, far more three point shooting and less time on the clock (lower scores and offensive chances), the relatively lower blocks numbers suddenly make a lot more sense.
September 21st, 2007 at 7:20 am
I can’t say agree whole heartedly with your article, but I get your point.
I think your work analogy fails in reality, but in AK’s personal perception in it right on, proven by the point that Andrei is now saying that he is willing to stay in Russia and leave his $63million on the table.
September 25th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Looks like for the AK fans therre seems to be a little light at the end of the tunnel. I read an article in the trib where D-will expressed the need to keep AK. And in order to do that he has talked with Coach Sloan about finding a better role on the team, like backing up BOozer off the Bench. This again, would be the ideal situation for the Jazz, as AK would get back to all-star form, and dominate the opposing bench players. But we may loose a bit of defense in our starting line-up.
September 26th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
I think that AK is full of it. Sloan is a hall of famer and he isn’t. He needs to put more effort because as we saw last season he isn’t doing what he needs to do to help the team and become a better player. It isn’t Sloan’s responsibility to make everyone happy but it is his responsibility to win and that is what he does.