Los Angeles ? Andrei Kirilenko went public Saturday that he left the Jazz this week and returned to Russia to complete the adoption of a 2-month-old girl that Kirilenko and his wife, Masha , have named Alexandra . Kirilenko told Russia's Sport Express newspaper that the adoption process began in February and was the reason he did not play for his country at last month's European championships. The Kirilenkos already have two sons. Kirilenko missed two preseason games to make the trip to Russia but was due to arrive in Los Angeles on Saturday night and is expected to play in today's game.
"I think it's a special thing that he's doing," Deron Williams said. "I know they're happy about the situation. We talked about it a lot all summer and it was a hard process for them. It was a difficult process adopting in another country, especially when you're leaving that country."
The Jazz deferred to Kirilenko in originally announcing that he was returning to Russia for a family matter. As much as they hoped Kirilenko wouldn't have to make the trip in season, it was unavoidable.
"You've got to take care of that," Williams said. "It's the preseason, so definitely it's not a big deal. But even if it was in the regular season, it's something he's got to take care of."
Having returned from Russia just before the start of training camp, Kirilenko will have made five transcontinental trips in a little more than three weeks, with the Jazz having played in London and Madrid, Spain, as part of the preseason.
"Are we concerned about it? Yeah," general manager Kevin O'Connor acknowledged. "But do we also have nine or 10 days until we open? Yeah."
The Jazz hope Kirilenko's experience with international travel will help him get back up to speed quicker than most.
"We'll just have to see," coach Jerry Sloan said. "We'll probably try to play him a little bit more when he gets back, see if we can get him a little bit more time to see where he is and go from there."
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Schedule
The Jazz will play Charlotte/L.A. Lakers today at 5:30 p.m./8:30 p.m. MDT in their second game as part of the annual preseason shootout hosted by the Lakers.
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Briefly
Ronnie Price (strained left hamstring) and Kyle Korver (inflamed left knee) both sat out for the Jazz , down to just 13 players available for the game. ... Several Clippers players, including Baron Davis , approached Sloan to congratulate him on his Hall of Fame induction before the game. ... Ronald Dupree scored 12 points and hit two 20-footers in the second quarter.
