Miller irked with Kirilenko on court, complaints off it
"I would have to say he's putting himself on thin ice,"
SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller said Andrei Kirilenko, his highest-paid player, is "putting himself on thin ice" with inconsistent play and complaints about his role on the team.
Miller said he cringes during some of Kirilenko's jump shots.
"I'd almost like to call his bluff, say 'OK, automatically we're going to leave you out there. You're going to take 20 shots a night five games in a row. And then we'll see,"' Miller told radio station 1280 AM.
"That would resolve the issue," Miller said Thursday. "He's either going to make them or he's not."
After a meeting with coaches Tuesday, Kirilenko said he sometimes doesn't feel like he's on the floor.
"I just go back and forth, back and forth, back and forth and I go to sleep," he said.
Miller didn't like it.
"I would have to say he's putting himself on thin ice," the owner told the radio station. "The combination of not playing very well and shooting his mouth off -- that's not a good combination."
But Kirilenko sounded positive after nine points and seven rebounds Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons. He's averaging 9.1 points per game.
"I feel I'm much more in game now," he said. "I hope it goes on for few games now."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press <end article.>>
Miller never does mention "trade" but i think "thin ice" would have to infer the possibility.
