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Did we misuse AK?

silesian said:
Loved AK in his prime, but he was a way-below average shooter. Career 0.310 from 3 would place him 147th in the NBA behind the likes of Trey B, . And he was a 3 not a 4.

He was a very good playmaker and phenomenal defender, but let's not get carried away with this top 10 thing, with the likes of Durant, James, Russell, CP3, Timmy, Anthony Davis, Curry, LMA, Harden,Lillard, Kawhi, Cousins, Klay, Kyrie (sure I missed a few). He would be top 30, no way top 10.
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I agree with this. I was a big fan of early AK, but my problem with him is that he never seemed to improve. In fact he may have digressed over the course of his career. He had 4-5 good years early in his career and then started to slide. He also wasn't real durable. He only averaged 63 games a year in Utah after his all-star year. In fact, I think he only played all 82 once in his entire career. I guess you can blame Sloan's system, but I'm not sure he had much of a work ethic. Plus he was a bit of a head case. Contrast that with Malone who seemed to improve every year. Maybe he would have been better in a different system, but I'm not sure he worked hard enough or was durable enough to be considered top 10.
 
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The guy only made the playoffs on the backs of more solvent NBA players, when he was a primary player, his teams were never that good.

Besides that, dude is a ****ing wiener.

Why the **** are we still talking about this?
 
Hey all, i hear ya. I just meant that if you look at how the power forward has evolved, Kirilenko would have been an exceptional fit in todays league. He could shoot well enough from the outside, to draw defenders and was too quick for most bigs. My guess is a team would have put a wing on him to counteract but AK in the post was a terror too because he was such a deft passer. Defensively he could guard 1 thru 4 and was great as a help defender. He would have been great in todays league if used correctly. Unfortunately the stifled spacing and out of position play he had to endure muffled his skills and abilities. Its too bad because he was such a talent.
 
Top 10. Bwahahahaha. Heck, he wouldn't even be top 30 as someone else said. Dude had no work ethic (his craft never improved), fire, shot or ball handling ability.
 
AK was a good player, but spent most of his career with the wrong team.

People implying that Boozer's role should have changed, or that Ak should have gotten minutes there instead of him simply aren't thinking.

The Dwill/Booz pick-and-roll with Okur flaring to the 3-point line was one of the most difficult covers for any defense over the past 10 years. The Jazz offense was an absolute machine back then-- if you don't believe me, look at Ronnie Brewer's stats during his Utah stint, and see what happened to his career after he left. Booz was one of the best pick-and-roll finishing bigs in the NBA, and absolutely **** all over 28 teams routinely.

Had we had a prime Korver, and if AK could have made himself into a Draymond then the Jazz would have visited the Finals IMO. Instead Okur got old, Booz lost his finesse, DWill got angry/injured, and everything kinda imploded. Gorgeous teams to watch offensively though.
 
Carbon13 said:
Hey all, i hear ya. I just meant that if you look at how the power forward has evolved, Kirilenko would have been an exceptional fit in todays league. He could shoot well enough from the outside, to draw defenders and was too quick for most bigs. My guess is a team would have put a wing on him to counteract but AK in the post was a terror too because he was such a deft passer. Defensively he could guard 1 thru 4 and was great as a help defender. He would have been great in todays league if used correctly. Unfortunately the stifled spacing and out of position play he had to endure muffled his skills and abilities. Its too bad because he was such a talent.
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He was-- but DWill was the better player, and Booz was the better complement to DWill. It's a tough decision, but it had to be done-- and that's why AK should have been traded IMO. I just think there was always hope that he'd develop a three-point shot.
 
dalamon said:
AK was a good player, but spent most of his career with the wrong team.

People implying that Boozer's role should have changed, or that Ak should have gotten minutes there instead of him simply aren't thinking.

The Dwill/Booz pick-and-roll with Okur flaring to the 3-point line was one of the most difficult covers for any defense over the past 10 years. The Jazz offense was an absolute machine back then-- if you don't believe me, look at Ronnie Brewer's stats during his Utah stint, and see what happened to his career after he left. Booz was one of the best pick-and-roll finishing bigs in the NBA, and absolutely **** all over 28 teams routinely.

Had we had a prime Korver, and if AK could have made himself into a Draymond then the Jazz would have visited the Finals IMO. Instead Okur got old, Booz lost his finesse, DWill got angry/injured, and everything kinda imploded. Gorgeous teams to watch offensively though.
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I agree with this.

Defense was our problem
 
dalamon said:
He was-- but DWill was the better player, and Booz was the better complement to DWill. It's a tough decision, but it had to be done-- and that's why AK should have been traded IMO. I just think there was always hope that he'd develop a three-point shot.
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Well said. The inability to pull the trigger on a trade was the downfall. AK had serious skills, and in his prime I believe there is a good chance he would have flourished if he'd been playing on a team that took full advantage of his strengths. With Sloan as coach and the other pieces in place, Utah was never going to become that team.
 
Inability to pull the trigger? Who the **** wanted him at 17M? Dude just wasn't that good.
 
Joe Bagadonuts said:
I recall a Shawn Marrion trade that was all but done at one point, but LHM blocked it. Am I mistaken?
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There was also a rumoured Boris Diaw trade before the 2010-2011 season IIRC (I remember cuz that's when I became pretty die-hard), and nothing formulated.

Boris averaged this that year: (82 games played) MPG: 33.9 FG: .492 3pp: .345 FT: .683 RPG: 5.0 APG: 4.1 PPG: 11.3
 
I seem to remember Phoenix wanting Sap in the rumor. But if it was straight across, LHM straight ****ed that iteration of the team.
 
Its interesting that Deron basically went through the same thing AK did in terms of system and fit when he was traded to Brooklyn. Just wasnt the same when he left Utah. I would argue AK in Utah was actually a better player than Derons been in Brooklyn. Could you imagine AK on the old Phoenix teams or the modern Warriors team? Would be fun to watch!
 
Joe Bagadonuts said:
I recall a Shawn Marrion trade that was all but done at one point, but LHM blocked it. Am I mistaken?
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Nope. Pretty sure that was the case. And then there was another deal being discussed pre-season after that, but it was leaked, fell apart and I remember KOC being livid.
 
Funny you mentioned the Warriors, I remember the year we made all the way to Western Conference finals, it was GS that beat Dallas and we eliminated Houston in the 1st round IIRC, then we played the Warriors in the 2nd round. If memory serves, besides the Baron Davis poster, AK wrecked havoc on that GSW team, and seemed to vanish after that series.
 
This thread makes me laugh

How some of you forget what a different player AK was pre-injury, to how scared he played post injury. That's all it comes down to, not the offense, not how he was misused, just the player he became after his knee.
 
Hax0rs said:
This thread makes me laugh

How some of you forget what a different player AK was pre-injury, to how scared he played post injury. That's all it comes down to, not the offense, not how he was misused, just the player he became after his knee.
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He also acted like a whiny lil bitch after his injury.
Maybe he injured his ***** in addition to his knee
 
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