Jazz ask Kirilenko to bulk up frame News Utah Jazz

If you happen to see Andrei Kirilenko going back and forth between the Moscow Chuck-A-Rama all-you-can-eat buffet and the Red Square Gold's Gym this summer, there's a good explanation. In his year-end performance evaluation, the lean and lanky Russian athlete was told he needed to pack on some pounds. Jazz bosses are hoping the small forward doesn't return next season as such a, well, small forward. They want more beef on his bones. Those might be welcome words for many people, who could probably also handle the $16 million paycheck awaiting him after his offseason of pumping iron and plumping up.

But for Kirilenko, this news wasn't exactly easy to swallow. He started the 2008-09 season weighing 226 pounds and said he shed eight pounds over the course of the hectic NBA year. Kirilenko didn't view his weight as a problem. For one thing, he's a Basketball player, not a heavyweight boxer ? despite some resemblances that suggest otherwise. Plus, his weight loss followed a predictable pattern in which he usually drops about 10 pounds a season. "I never feel like it's been an issue," Kirilenko said. "I've never concentrate on that in my life and in my career, but obviously it's been brought up to my attention so I will try to concentrate on that a little bit more. "I will do whatever possible," he added, "whatever coach wants from me." Though Jazz personnel didn't admit this, it's quite possible the organization would like him to beef up his 6-foot-9 frame so he can bang around a bit more next season as a power forward instead of primarily as a swingman. The team, after all, could lose both Carlos Boozer (potential unrestricted free agent) and Paul Millsap (restricted free agent) for 2009-10, and Kirilenko has played well in the 4-spot over the years. What Jazz coach Jerry Sloan did recently claim, though, is that Kirilenko's play last season seemed to decline as his waistline diminished. The eight-year veteran reportedly returned from midseason ankle surgery a bit thinner. "I think he had his moments where he played pretty well when he was coming off the bench," Sloan said. "Then he went through a stage where he lost some weight, his weight went down and I think that hurt him." Kirilenko didn't exactly see it that way. "I don't understand why it's brought up to my attention," he said. That doesn't, however, mean he's preparing for a tumultuous summer a la '07. In fact, he plans on following his superiors' suggestion. "I'm not frustrated. Don't get me wrong," he said. "It's Jazz job to control us and try to bring those points to our attention. I'm under contract, so I will try to do what they want from me." Ah, like Tchaikovsky to his coach's ears. "Those are things you're looking for ? guys to be more consistent," said Sloan, who complimented Kirilenko for his Game 5 effort against the Lakers last Monday. "Maybe he's got to work a little harder off the floor to make himself strong enough to be consistent night in and night out." One hitch to Kirilenko adding more mass? OK, aside from the fact there are no Chuck-A-Ramas in Russia? Kirilenko admits that it's hard for his body to bulk up when he's playing Basketball, and his intentions are to do just that with the Russian national team as it prepares for and plays in the European championships this summer. That's a big deal for Russia and its favorite Basketball son. It's also kind of a catch-22 for AK47. To that matter, Kirilenko said he needs to speak with the president of his country's Basketball federation to "discuss all the possibilities." Similar discussions of all the trade possibilities will likely continue to take place among Beehive State-based fans and sports-talk shows due to how much of Utah's salary space will be eaten up by Kirilenko's massive contract, which seems all the bigger when he's not producing max-like numbers. That was the case this past season when Kirilenko took on a reserve role after being a full-time starter for five years. Kirilenko's scoring average actually increased from 11.0 points per game to 11.6 ppg this year even while playing three fewer minutes an outing. But his rifle's aim was way off. Despite continued help from shooting specialist Jeff Hornacek, Kirilenko went from notching a career-best 50.9 percent from the field in 2007-08 to a near-career-low 44.9 percent, including a miserable 27.4 percent from 3-point land. Kirilenko's assists (2.6 apg from 4.0 apg) and blocked shots (1.1 bpg from 1.5 bpg) also both dropped. Despite the seeming unbalanced bang-to-buck ratio, Sloan said money matters aren't his business. His duty, rather, is to help Kirilenko return to being a versatile weapon ? and the bigger, the better. "It's not my job to decide how much money a guy's going to get," Sloan said. "Our organization paid him. We go on about our business and try to get him to play as well as we can." Just as he accepted coming off the bench, Kirilenko said he'll accept his coach's criticism. In fact, he thinks the whole team needs to "work harder" this summer to avoid such a long offseason next year. "We have a pretty good group of the guys. We have a great chemistry in the locker room," he said. "We never have problem with the players between each other, so I hope we can keep it. ... I'm feeling good," he added. "This season wasn't really successful for us, but we're going to continue working." Which is why you shouldn't be too surprised if you see him doing squats and bench presses at the Moscow-Lefort Gold's on Electrozavodskaya Street. Just as his boss ? whom he might not exactly agree with but whose advice he'll heed ? asked him to do. "We have great relationship," Kirilenko said. "I never have a problem with Jerry as a person. We have some issues with the coach Jerry in the past. Right now, we're good. We're on the same page. "He told me what he wants from me and I'll try to fix it in the summer." E-mail: jody@desnews.com