This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Los Angeles » Midway through his third season with the Jazz, Kyrylo Fesenko 's development hit another pothole Tuesday when Jazz coach Jerry Sloan left him on the inactive list for the game against the Clippers.
Fesenko was believed to have missed the early bus to Staples Center -- possibly as a result of miscommunication -- but Sloan's patience with the 23-year-old center clearly was running short by the end of the night.
"Fes has got to learn to be a little bit more accountable for being late a time or two and some of those things," Sloan said. "If he's going to play in this league and he doesn't like what we do, that's fine, I don't have a problem with that.
"But if he's going to stay involved and try to understand what's going on ... He's got talent, but it's important for him to stay focused on what we're trying to do and not be jackpotting around.
"I mean, he's a young guy and it's like he already has the answers to what's going on out there and I haven't always seen that in practice and some of his workouts. He'll tell you he works hard, but I've seen guys work hard. I'm not totally blind."
Fesenko is averaging 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds and recently missed six games with a sprained ankle. A former second-round draft pick from Ukraine, Fesenko will be a free agent at season's end. Kosta Koufos was in uniform ahead of Fesenko on Tuesday.
"We've got a lot invested in him, a lot of time, a lot of effort," Sloan said. "Our coaches work with him. Take advantage of it rather than let it slip through your fingers when it's there."
From the owner
Jazz chief executive Greg Miller has started answering fan questions on the team's Web site. In his first set of responses, Miller most notably wrote "we're not looking to move anyone just to get under the luxury tax." The NBA's trade deadline is Feb. 18.
Miller described the Jazz as playing their best basketball since the John Stockton -to- Karl Malone Finals years of 1997 and 1998, writing, "I think we have a good chance to win the Western Conference and get back into the NBA Finals this season."
He also wrote the Jazz were able to match Portland's offer sheet to Paul Millsap last season only because of the extra revenue the team gained by moving its games exclusively to FSN Utah beginning this season.
"We felt like we would have been a worse team if we'd let Paul go, and in retrospect we think we made the right decision," Miller wrote.
rsiler@sltrib.com" Target="_BLANK">rsiler@sltrib.com