Andrei Makes His Case
A fun walk down memory lane.....
Andrei Makes His Case
His price tag is set, and Andrei Kirilenko -- seeking a max-money contract extension from the Jazz -- doesn't seem willing to mark himself down.
"I want to get the money which I'm worth," said Kirilenko, whose agent, Marc Fleisher, is engaged in sputtering contract-extension negotiations with the Jazz. "That's it."
Actually, that's just the beginning.
On Wednesday, Fleisher said, "We're far apart on what we (the Jazz and Kirilenko's camp) both see his value as being." A deadline of Oct. 31 to either agree to terms or risk having the Jazz's 23-year- old All-Star forward become a restricted free agent next summer is fast approaching. So Thursday, Kirilenko himself made a case for why he will not back down from his demand for a six-year, $86 million deal.
"I think every NBA player," he said, "is like product, in the NBA's market.
"You know, if you go into the store and want to buy milk, it costs three bucks. And (if) you say, 'Well, no, I don't think it costs three bucks, it costs two bucks,' . . . it's still three bucks."
Kirilenko thinks he's worth 86 million bucks -- not 80, not 76, not a penny less than big man Paul Gasol recently managed to wrestle from the Memphis Grizzlies.
And if he does not get it, well, Kirilenko doesn't know what he'll do.
"This is my job -- to play basketball," he said. "I have like 10, or 13, years more (to) my career. I can't do anything except basketball.
"So, you know, if I don't get money which I'm worth, maybe I should change my job," Kirilenko added. "Maybe I should go to work like a journalist, and I will cost like, I don't know, a thousand bucks a mThe Jazz and Kirilenko are believed to be about $10 million apart.
Fleisher said he is "not optimistic" the gap will be bridged, especially since he is not willing to discount his client.
The Jazz feel they deserve some sort of significant monetary break for agreeing to give Kirilenko his big-bucks deal now -- but you won't hear that from Kevin O'Connor, the club's senior vice president for basketball operations.
"Our negotiations will stay in-house," O'Connor said Thursday. "Look," he added, "Andrei's agent, what he's trying to do is get Andrei a deal. If he wants to talk in the papers and go public, that's great. I've got no comment."
Kirilenko, however, had plenty to say prior to Thursday's training- camp practice.
"I don't think we're talking the right market (value), really," he said.
Chastised by Jazz owner Larry H. Miller for saying he was "a little unhappy" the deal was not done prior to the opening of camp last week, Kirilenko isn't sure what will happen now -- and isn't hesitant to say it.
"I don't want to say I'm discouraged, but -- that's life," he said. "That's life, and you can't bet what's gonna happen tomorrow or day after tomorrow.
"I want to be taken care of, but I'm always ready for bad," Kirilenko added. "I'm telling you -- all my career, all my life, every time I'm thinking good, but I'm ready for bad."
If it were to come to a worst-case scenario -- no extension signed -- Kirilenko insisted he will not be adversely influenced during his fourth year in Utah.
He did not sound terrifically convincing, however.
"Don't worry about it," said Kirilenko, a married father of one who will make $1.67 million this season. "I'm a basketball player, a professional basketball player.
"This will not be on my mind during the season," he added. "But it forces me to think about my future, for sure. About my family, about my career. It probably (indicates) how important I am for the team."
With the Jazz signing Detroit center Mehmet Okur to a six-year, $50 million deal and Cleveland power forward Carlos Boozer to a six- year, $68 million deal this past offseason, Kirilenko feels he is next in line.
"Maybe some products are too high," he said, "but they've already set up the market. . . . They signed Boozer, they signed Okur in the summer, and right now I'm like walk-on."
Kirilenko suggested he was not looking for public sympathy.
Perhaps understanding, though.
"I don't even want to try to play with public, with people, with the fans," he said. "This is just my opinion."
Just like he has an opinion on most everything, including the price of a gallon of milk.
"Nobody will sell you," he said, "for two bucks."
....I wanted to make a "Hey Andrei, the milk's gone sour!!!" sign like 5 years ago and every year since. ugh.
