This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
This is the first in a three-part series of The Tribune's Ross Siler's exclusive one-on-one interview with Jazz owner Larry Miller.
* Part 1, today: Miller on Andrei Kirilenko
* Part 2, Monday: Miller on Deron Williams' contract
* Part 3, Tuesday: Miller on Jerry Sloan's future
From his courtside seat, Jazz owner Larry Miller got up in the moments before tipoff Wednesday night and walked across the floor to join the team huddle. He placed a hand on Andrei Kirilenko's back and the symbolism, as it turned out, was entirely intentional.
"I don't usually do that," Miller said, "but it was just to let him know I was figuratively and literally there with him."
Only a month earlier, Kirilenko called Miller from the European championships in Spain and said in a 20-minute conversation that he could see only two ways to resolve his frustration at playing for the Jazz: Trade him or release him from his contract.
It has marked one of the greatest crises for Miller in the 23 seasons he has owned the Jazz, one he discussed for the better part of an hour Thursday at his offices at Jordan Commons. Yet his core belief in Kirilenko the player remains unshaken.
"When he's playing his game, it's just beautiful," Miller said. "Absolutely, one of the 10 best players in the league, when he's playing the way he can play."
If the Jazz are to win their first championship, Kirilenko will be their wild card. "The way I word it to people is, 'We are a good team without Andrei. With Andrei, we are a very good team,' " Miller said. "He takes us to another dimension."
Although Miller would not comment specifically about a proposed Kirilenko-for-Shawn Marion trade, his comments suggested that the Jazz killed the deal. In addition, Phoenix owner Robert Sarver was believed to have lobbied hard for the trade.
More than anything, Miller said he has come to recognize the role that a language barrier played in the controversy, which
Kirilenko gave public voice to when he expressed his frustration and desire to leave the Jazz in a series of Russian interviews.
It took a half-hour meeting with Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and Kevin O'Connor, the team's executive vice president of basketball operations, in which the meaning of two of Kirilenko's key words - "fun" and "pressure" - had to be defined almost by Merriam-Webster.
One of two outcomes now will follow. Kirilenko will be redeemed as a player, Sloan will show that he can change as a coach after two decades in Utah and the Jazz will be able to build on last season's appearance in the Western Conference finals.
Or things will break down after a week, a month or a half-season. In that case, Miller said, Kirilenko and the organization "all have to say we gave it our best shot. Because if we have to walk away from the situation and can't say that, then that's a sad commentary."
How does Miller view Kirilenko's charge that he was too often ignored in the offense, after a season in which the former All-Star averaged 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds? How does he respond to Kirilenko's assertion that Sloan's coaching style can be negative and grating?
"I think Andrei had some legitimate points, and I told him that," Miller said. "And I told Kevin and Jerry that. It wasn't all just Andrei. I think we've got to be more sensitive to our players as individuals, not assume a one-size-fits-all mentality of handling people.
"Whether we like it or not, today's player is a different mind-set than 20 or 30 years ago, or even 10 years ago. And I think we need to try within reason to meet them on their emotional ground, their understanding level and stuff like that."
Lost in translation
Somehow the process of understanding what Kirilenko means by "fun" starts with Miller graduating from West High in Salt Lake City in 1962, which happened to be the first year the school system offered Russian as a class.
Twenty-three years before he purchased the Jazz, Miller picked up enough of the language to share a connection with Kirilenko after the Russian forward came to Utah in 2001, two years after he was drafted in the first round.
While Kirilenko can converse in English, Miller knows something gets lost in the translation. That was never more apparent than when Kirilenko, Sloan and O'Connor sat down Oct. 1 to clear the air before the Jazz left for training camp in Boise, Idaho.
Although Miller was not present at the meeting, the details of his account were confirmed by one of the participants.
The trouble started once Kirilenko said, "I want to have fun playing basketball," causing Sloan to bristle at first. "Jerry saw a 'Let's go out and ha, ha, horse around kind of fun,' " Miller said. They tried to talk through their differences a couple of times, getting nowhere.
That was until O'Connor, acting as a mediator between player and coach, asked Kirilenko to define fun. The key components, as he described it, were playing hard, getting up and down the court and feeling involved in the game.
"It was having a meaningful role in the team and being able to take some satisfaction in being part of a positive outcome," Miller said. "Now when Jerry heard it described that way, he was fine with it. Here's Jerry, he says, 'I call that work.'
"Now think about it. You've got one guy calling it work and one guy calling it fun, agreeing they mean the same thing. Now that sounds incongruous, but that's really true."
They moved on next to "pressure," a word Miller said he'd heard Kirilenko use dozens of times before. He believed it related to the pressure Kirilenko felt at having to live up to his mega contract or the pressure of being called out by Sloan on occasion.
What Kirilenko described as pressure, however, translated to wanting to be treated evenhandedly.
"Andrei said he had no problem being criticized if he was dogging it down the floor, if he was in the wrong place on a play, missed a defensive assignment, whatever," Miller said.
In return, Kirilenko wanted to hear praise when deserved, a request Miller supported. "That was the pressure to Andrei," Miller said. "He only heard the negative. And that's what he defined as pressure."
What Kirilenko said last month in Russia, Miller now views as the voice of a struggling player, one who didn't know how to properly address the situation with the Jazz and didn't feel Sloan could or would be willing to change.
"We're not asking Jerry to give up control," Miller added, "but we are asking Jerry to adjust."
No way out
After Kirilenko phoned him in September, Miller said he ruled out the possibility of releasing Kirilenko from the $63 million left on his contract. The Jazz did such a thing for Derek Fisher this summer, but Miller said the Jazz couldn't set that precedent with another player.
As for the possibility of trading Kirilenko, Miller said "only one ever generated any steam." That was the Marion-for-Kirilenko trade, as previously reported.
The Suns originally wanted to unload Marcus Banks, only to have the Jazz balk at taking on a $17 million salary commitment for a backup point guard. The talks eventually came around to a one-for-one deal, Marion for Kirilenko.
While Marion is a perennial All-Star and Kirilenko is coming off his career-worst season, Miller suggested contract length was a key factor. Marion is signed for another two years but can opt out of his contract and become a free agent after this season.
Phoenix apparently tried to sell the Jazz on being free from the millions owed to Kirilenko the next four years. But Miller sees things differently. "If a guy's as good as he should be, getting paid that kind of money, I want him to play for four years, not for two," he said.
Additionally, Miller felt that the younger Kirilenko was a superior talent. "When Andrei's playing like Andrei that we think of, I'll say the Andrei we've come to know and love, he's a better player," Miller said.
During the Jazz's first preseason game, Miller thought he saw signs of that player. Kirilenko was blocking shots at one end and throwing behind-the-back passes on the fast break at the other end. Just checking Kirilenko's line in the box score felt good to the owner.
Talking about the saga the following day, Miller flashed back to Kirilenko's inspired play in the conference semifinals against Golden State and said, "You see that and you think, 'We've got to keep this together.' "