Of course, Kirilenko also has some minor problems.
The most criticized thing about AK47 is his introverted, sensitive, and emotional personality.
Kirilenko has a somewhat introverted personality, and because he is a Russian and came to the United States to play alone, Kirilenko has always had some problems communicating with his teammates.
This is somewhat similar to Yi Jianlian.
In addition, some people say that Kirilenko's mental attributes are not very good.
The most famous one is Kirilenko’s playoff vacation visa incident.
After being eliminated by the Spurs in the 2007 playoffs with a total score of 1-4, Deron Williams angrily accused someone on the team of losing their fighting spirit before the game and making vacation plans in advance. It was precisely because of these internal reasons.
That led to the Jazz completely losing the game.
"There are some people who are already ready for vacation. They are preparing very early." Deron Williams said at the time.
Power forward Boozer also criticized this behavior mercilessly at the press conference. He said: "We are in the Western Conference Finals, but some people are already ready to go on vacation."
But neither of them revealed the names of their teammates.
Afterwards, Jazz officials also did not announce who the player was who was going on vacation.
In the following 2008 Western Conference semifinals, before the sixth game of life and death between the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers, Kirilenko was once again reported to have missed training and went to San Antonio to apply for passports and other related procedures for his family's summer vacation in France.
During the current war, Kirilenko was absent from team training in order to apply for a holiday visa!
After the incident was exposed, public opinion was in an uproar, and fans in the media accused Kirilenko of irresponsible behavior.
However, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan later defended his beloved general, "There was a misunderstanding and I should be responsible for it. I don't think you should blame Andre. I approved his going. If you have any dissatisfaction,
It should be directed at me. The fault this time is all my fault. Andre and I did not communicate well. That's it. This matter is over."
Kirilenko explained, "I thought the team training was at 10 o'clock in the morning (actually it was 11:30), then I would not be able to make the appointment with the French Consulate. Hi, I am a foreigner, and sometimes I have
Regarding the passport issue, the French consulate informed me to go through the formalities that day, and I got the coach’s permission. Now there seems to be some misunderstanding. You know, the embassy has its own strict regulations, and it is difficult for you to ask them to change the time.”
No matter how to explain it, at least in this matter, Kirilenko showed that he was not very concerned about the team's winning or losing, and he was not very competitive.
Trading such a player is risky.
No matter how capable you are, it's useless if you don't play well on the court.
The most important thing is that if he doesn't play well himself, he can easily ruin the atmosphere in the locker room.
But Deng Fang was not too worried.
First of all, Kirilenko had his own reasons for doing what he did.
Kirilenko is a foreigner, and his relationship with the team is indeed not good.
Kirilenko's peak was the 2003-04 season.
In the 2002-03 season, the Jazz had a double defeat. Malone and Stockton both retired after their last season with the Jazz. In the following 2003-04 season, the Jazz lost their leading brother. Kirilenko immediately became the boss.
His average points, rebounds and blocks per game all rank first on the team.
It is precisely for this reason that Kirilenko received a 6-year, $86 million contract in the summer of 2004!
In the following 04-05 season, Kirilenko entered the All-Star lineup for the first time, and his average of 3.3 blocks per game was also the league's best. Kirilenko proved that he was worthy of this contract.
But in the next season, Kirilenko's condition began to decline seriously.
This is still related to Kirilenko's ability.
Kirilenko's characteristic is that he is versatile, but versatility means that no one item is particularly outstanding.
Except for blocking shots, of course.
And the biggest test for a star is his offensive skills!
If you don't have a unique skill on the offensive end, it will be difficult for you to lead the team forward by scoring under heavy siege.
Based on Kirilenko's technical characteristics, in fact, the most suitable role for him should be the team's second or third leader.
The Jazz suddenly gave Kirilenko a huge contract, which once made him one of the top ten paid stars in the league!
But Kirilenko's offense has not improved at all. Although he is versatile, he does not have excellent unique skills and it is difficult to score continuously, which seriously restricts the team's upper limit.
Until 2005, the Jazz selected Deron Williams in the first round, plus the rebellious Boozer snatched from the Cavaliers the previous year. This combination of inside and outside was very similar to that of Malone. Stockton was very successful.
Similarly, coach Jerry Sloan began to put the team's focus on Deron and Boozer, and resumed the pid roll strategy.
As a result, Kirilenko instantly became the third choice on the offensive end.
Because Boozer's starting position was untouchable, Kirilenko was forced to play small forward. His shooting was not good at small forward, and his career three-point shooting percentage was only 31%. In the 2006-07 season, his average shots per game dropped.
After reaching 7 times, he only ranked 7th in the team, and Kirilenko had completely reached his peak.
Dissatisfied with his tactical position, Kirilenko once mentioned leaving the Jazz, but in the end he fulfilled the contract.
In other words, Kirilenko's relationship with the Jazz has long been problematic, and he has always wanted to leave the team.
It's understandable that there's some drama in this situation.
If things don't go your way, any trouble will come to you.
In fact, there is nothing wrong with Kirilenko's competitiveness.
Deng Fang clearly remembers that in 2013, the Nets formed a Big Five lineup.
In order to join the Nets, Kirilenko, who had an annual salary of up to 10 million U.S. dollars at the time, chose to opt out of his contract and signed a two-year contract with the Nets with an annual salary of more than 3 million U.S. dollars.
At that time, Kirilenko's contract made many bosses in the league extremely dissatisfied, and they all suspected that there was a yin and yang contract between Kirilenko and the Nets.
Before joining the Nets, Kirilenko averaged 12.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game in the Forest. With his performance, it is reasonable to receive a salary of 8 million, but he joined the Nets at a low salary!
Although Kirilenko's acceptance of such terms has something to do with Nets owner Russian tycoon Prokhorov, the more important thing is that the Nets' Big Five lineup gave Kirilenko hope of winning.
Later, the Nets traded Kirilenko and draft picks from the 76ers for Brandon Davis, but because Kirilenko refused to report to the new club, the 76ers imposed a suspension and salary suspension on AK47.
.
In fact, Kirilenko has never played a game for the 76ers since the deal was reached.
In the end, the 76ers decided to waive Kirilenko.
If I don’t have more money, I would rather cut my salary and go to the Nets of the Big Five, and I would rather have no money than go to a bad team!
This shows that Kirilenko still attaches great importance to victory.
Whether Kirilenko will play well depends on whether he can see the hope of winning!
If he comes to a strong team and can see the hope of winning, Kirilenko's competitive spirit will be no problem!
