Andrei wants out
September 19th, 2007, 8:10 am · Post a Comment · posted by jerrybrown
Is it just a conincidence, or does it make perfect sense that we now find out that Utah’s Andrei Kirilenko told Jazz officials several weeks ago what he wrote (in Russian) in a blog for a Russian web site Tuesday — that he wants to be traded before the season begins?Here’s the link to the Salt Lake Tribune story, just in case you’ve misplaced your Russian-English dictionary: http://www.sltrib.com/jazz/ci_6934890 That would appear to dovetail perfectly with the timing of the Suns-Jazz trade talks involving Shawn Marion, which were confirmed but said to be short and sweet from the Phoenix side. And it also makes sense that the initial phone call came from outside the 602 area code. Of course, Marion hasn’t done any blogging this season, so we’ll have to wait for media day to find out whether he’s upset enough about not getting a contract extension offer enough to ask for a change of address himself. Kirilenko had a lousy season with the Jazz last season, but had a good summer — leading Russia to the EuroBasket championship and earning MVP honors in the process — which might make the $61 million left on his contract a little more palatable for someone. But unless the Jazz sweeten the pot on both ends by taking another Phoenix contract (Marcus Banks) and adding a big man the Suns can bring off the bench, any deal is a non-starter.
