What's new
By:

Did we misuse AK?

No.

And yes.

1) we played AK out of position. There were many on this forum vocal about feeling that Sloan was slipping some in his old age, and this was paramount among those complaints. If we had played him more at the 4, or modified the offense to get him the ball more frequently, he would have done better.

2) AK pouted a LOT. And I mean A LOT. A WHOLE FREAKING LOT. The seasons he did his best he played in the flow of the offense, took what came to him, and was stellar in filling in the gaps. The ultimate garbage guy, making plays often out of nothing at all. For example, I remember a game when he chased down a 2 on 0 fast break and strung together like 5 blocks as he ultimately took the ball away from 3 other dudes. Then we had the "I am the star and I will only do what I want to" AK, and he sucked balls.

AK owns at least half of his downfall in Utah.
 
LogGrad98 said:
No.

And yes.

1) we played AK out of position. There were many on this forum vocal about feeling that Sloan was slipping some in his old age, and this was paramount among those complaints. If we had played him more at the 4, or modified the offense to get him the ball more frequently, he would have done better.

2) AK pouted a LOT. And I mean A LOT. A WHOLE FREAKING LOT. The seasons he did his best he played in the flow of the offense, took what came to him, and was stellar in filling in the gaps. The ultimate garbage guy, making plays often out of nothing at all. For example, I remember a game when he chased down a 2 on 0 fast break and strung together like 5 blocks as he ultimately took the ball away from 3 other dudes. Then we had the "I am the star and I will only do what I want to" AK, and he sucked balls.

AK owns at least half of his downfall in Utah.
Click to expand...

No doubt AK was a *****.

No doubt Jerry didn't use him right and failed to get the best out of him.

Not mutually exclusive.
 
Yep. Just take a look at the 2007 roster and imagine if we played the Hawks offense. I'd let a prime Boozer stretch the floor more, along with Millsap. Williams would have so much space to get inside.
 
Carbon13 said:
No question in today's game, AK would be a top 10 player in the league. His ability to guard 1 thru 4, pass, shoot, and make plays is better than any playmaking 4 in the league right now. Unfortunately, we stifled him by playing the flex offense and not allowing him to play in space like many other PF's enjoy today. I remember watching AK crying during the playoffs basically saying he could do more but was unable to under Sloan. I remember dismissing him as a baby and giving Jerry the benefit of the doubt. Now that time has passed and I look back at what Andrei was trying to say, difficulties with English and all, I realize he may have had a point. Its almost a tragedy the way we misused him. He will forever be remembered as good, not great, while others born 15 years later with less talent will be carried by cheerleaders simply because the league finally caught up. I just hope we remember Andrei as one of our greats when its all said and done.
Click to expand...

Top ten?? Really. Lol.
 
Carbon13 said:
No question in today's game, AK would be a top 10 player in the league. His ability to guard 1 thru 4, pass, shoot, and make plays is better than any playmaking 4 in the league right now. Unfortunately, we stifled him by playing the flex offense and not allowing him to play in space like many other PF's enjoy today. I remember watching AK crying during the playoffs basically saying he could do more but was unable to under Sloan. I remember dismissing him as a baby and giving Jerry the benefit of the doubt. Now that time has passed and I look back at what Andrei was trying to say, difficulties with English and all, I realize he may have had a point. Its almost a tragedy the way we misused him. He will forever be remembered as good, not great, while others born 15 years later with less talent will be carried by cheerleaders simply because the league finally caught up. I just hope we remember Andrei as one of our greats when its all said and done.
Click to expand...

Loved AK in his prime, but he was a way-below average shooter. Career 0.310 from 3 would place him 147th in the NBA behind the likes of Trey B, . And he was a 3 not a 4.

He was a very good playmaker and phenomenal defender, but let's not get carried away with this top 10 thing, with the likes of Durant, James, Russell, CP3, Timmy, Anthony Davis, Curry, LMA, Harden,Lillard, Kawhi, Cousins, Klay, Kyrie (sure I missed a few). He would be top 30, no way top 10.
 
silesian said:
Loved AK in his prime, but he was a way-below average shooter. Career 0.310 from 3 would place him 147th in the NBA behind the likes of Trey B, . And he was a 3 not a 4.

He was a very good playmaker and phenomenal defender, but let's not get carried away with this top 10 thing, with the likes of Durant, James, Russell, CP3, Timmy, Anthony Davis, Curry, LMA, Harden,Lillard, Kawhi, Cousins, Klay, Kyrie (sure I missed a few). He would be top 30, no way top 10.
Click to expand...
I agree with this. I was a big fan of early AK, but my problem with him is that he never seemed to improve. In fact he may have digressed over the course of his career. He had 4-5 good years early in his career and then started to slide. He also wasn't real durable. He only averaged 63 games a year in Utah after his all-star year. In fact, I think he only played all 82 once in his entire career. I guess you can blame Sloan's system, but I'm not sure he had much of a work ethic. Plus he was a bit of a head case. Contrast that with Malone who seemed to improve every year. Maybe he would have been better in a different system, but I'm not sure he worked hard enough or was durable enough to be considered top 10.
 
Last edited:
The guy only made the playoffs on the backs of more solvent NBA players, when he was a primary player, his teams were never that good.

Besides that, dude is a ****ing wiener.

Why the **** are we still talking about this?
 
Hey all, i hear ya. I just meant that if you look at how the power forward has evolved, Kirilenko would have been an exceptional fit in todays league. He could shoot well enough from the outside, to draw defenders and was too quick for most bigs. My guess is a team would have put a wing on him to counteract but AK in the post was a terror too because he was such a deft passer. Defensively he could guard 1 thru 4 and was great as a help defender. He would have been great in todays league if used correctly. Unfortunately the stifled spacing and out of position play he had to endure muffled his skills and abilities. Its too bad because he was such a talent.
 
Top 10. Bwahahahaha. Heck, he wouldn't even be top 30 as someone else said. Dude had no work ethic (his craft never improved), fire, shot or ball handling ability.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page
Back
Top