Ron, I have to disagree with you about AK. While I agree that he kind of gave up with the Jazz, it was in part because they didn't use him properly. I saw the games in FIBA when he won MVP. He was used differently. He was doing lots of backdoor cuts and getting dunks. Who were they running those plays for with the Jazz -- Ronnie Brewer. DWill was freezing him out too and Jerry allowed it. I remember making these comments on the site back then and the DWill crowd that was on here went nuts, some who are still here. In the current NBA, though he couldn't shoot, he would've been a beast on the fast break, fast-paced system.
FIBA is a different game and a different level of competition. Of course he was used differently. Success in FIBA does not mean success in the NBA. AK also tried harder and put more effort in at the FIBA level. He wasnt good enough to have the system be geared towards him. You dont build your system around your 4th best player. Of course AK wasnt the first option for DWill. AK turned the ball over too much and couldnt shoot. He just wasnt very useful in half court offense. He also moved the ball less and less as his career went on. DWill had 3 better options. Keep the ball, pass to Boozer, pass to Okur. If AK ran back cuts hard like Brewer he would have got more of them. He didnt with the Jazz, he pouted.
AK would be the same now as he was then. You dont become a good player when you dont work hard and dont care. Playing today wouldnt suddenly make him more interested in working hard. He might be worse today because there are even more video games and people playing them.
Maybe if AK had played with Hayward they would have been a dynamic duo and great teammates on League of Legends or WOW.