Trouble in Utah

So Euro MVP Andrei Kirilenko did not have the best of seasons last year. In 2005-2006 he was fantastic, but that was with Carlos Boozer missing a majority of the season due to injury. Last year with Boozer back, Kirilenko struggled on the court and overall had a very disappointing season. Kirilenko was a multi-talented player in 05/06 and we saw a glimpse of that during his fantasic play at the Euros, but when Boozer came back and took over the power forward position that Kirilenko had played, it forced Andrei to play away from the net more. There goes the boards and blocks. And that is his game. He plays best close to the rim. Force him away from his comfort zone, and he won't be as successful.

But I am going to tell you something, I am SICK of players making public trade demands. If you are about to sign a contract, then you need to realize that you will be with this team for whatever number of years unless they decide differently. I am sure that there is the rare occassion where a player asking for a trade is reasonable (Derek Fisher) but in most cases, I believe, that if you are the type of player who would demand a trade if things were not going your way, then you shouldn't be signing long contracts. Go 3 or 4 years, and if in 2 years your not happy, you will be able to leave soon and go somewhere else. If you sign for 5 years, then you are making a commitment to that franchise to stick with them for the 5 years.

At the very least though, don't go public with it. Andrei Kirilenko wrote on his blog that he wanted to be traded from Utah. You can viewthe link to read the quotes. It will be tough for Utah to make a move as Kirilenko has 4 more years and $63 million left. The great showing in the Euros he had will help somewhat, but him being a sulky bitch last year does not help. What is Utah to do in this situation? Do they want this distraction in training camp? If they can't move him, do they want the distraction for the season? They got a second year player in Paul Millsap who could step up if Kirilenko is out. Bottom line is that this is a messy situation that Utah has on their hands right now.