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AK's resurgence

Don't re-sign him. Either he's been lazy and timid because of greatness that he's been around (which makes him weak, and not the greatest influence), or he's just having a spurt of good play as his contract runs out and his body will start to deteriorate and the Jazz are going younger.

He's not going to sign a $3 million annual deal, so don't waste the time. I find his recent play to be more despicable than admirable. Assuming he doesn't crash and burn or find himself loafing through the rest of the season again, where the **** was he when collecting the vast majority of his $86 million?

I for one cannot wait to have this ****ing mess out of the way, whether he continues to play well or not. We've seen his stripes.
 
LogGrad98 said:
While by and large I agree with vj's assessment, I think in all fairness to AK it is reasonable to note that he does perform much better in a Lamar Odom-esque role. As point forward/power forward AK shines. That is what he was during his miracle year (remember the 5x5's...awesome). Ever since signing him to the new contract they kind if ignored what he contributed and how and proceeded to simply build another Stockton to Malone rather than perhaps building with AK as an important part of the franchise. Instead they gave him lots of money so he wouldn't leave then tried to pound that square peg into that round hole.

Now that said, I wish AK was not such a freaking *****. He needs to man up and play what the organization needed him to play and earn his millions, whether he feels all loved and mushy **** or not. Sure he had some injuries but the rest of the time he vacillated between trying hard and occasionally having a string of great games, and cry-baby mentally weak gangly uncoordinated pouty..um..guy.

If we could sign him to a more reasonable contract and if he could and would really play within Ty's offense then sure bring him back. If not, cut our losses and try to sign and trade for something.
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How do you build around a guy like AK?
 
VINYLONE said:
Ahhhhh, the memory of a Jazz fan. AK also played out of his mind a few months back, when Williams was still here, and then went back to being the AK we know and love.
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Exactly, AK went through a period almost precisely one year ago where he played 7 or 8 games like he is now. He'd cut to the basket and Williams would feed him.

Sooner or later, he's going to fall in love with his jump shot again and he'll go back to his 7 point/25 minute performances again.

I love AK - always have. But the guys a flake.
 
NUMBERICA said:
Don't re-sign him. Either he's been lazy and timid because of greatness that he's been around (which makes him weak, and not the greatest influence), or he's just having a spurt of good play as his contract runs out and his body will start to deteriorate and the Jazz are going younger.

He's not going to sign a $3 million annual deal, so don't waste the time. I find his recent play to be more despicable than admirable. Assuming he doesn't crash and burn or find himself loafing through the rest of the season again, where the **** was he when collecting the vast majority of his $86 million?

I for one cannot wait to have this ****ing mess out of the way, whether he continues to play well or not. We've seen his stripes.
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Agree with the sentiment.

Watching AK from now on would be just a painful reminder of what could have been, this past decade.

Like someone mentioned earlier he has outlasted Larry Miller, Sloan and Deron. How about that for "longevity"? Eat that, Malone
 
It is apparent that AK didn't work on his game during all the summer months he was with the Jazz. I don't know if it was because he played on the Russian teams or what, but he has never developed a post-up game. He basically has three shots, his inconsistent jumper, a dunk, and his "throw his arms up and hopes the refs call a foul" move. AK is the last one to practice and the first one to leave. He may flourish under Ty's system, but he eventually get hurt or have his jump shot leave. We have all seen it a hundred times with AK. We have to take hisi money and find another player. If we resign AK, we all know he will go back into his cocoon.
 
AK's banner year:

Year Team G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
03-04 UTA 78 78 37.1 0.443 0.338 0.790 2.9 5.2 8.1 3.1 1.9 2.8 2.76 2.23 16.5

vs.

10-11 UTA 53 51 32.2 0.469 0.372 0.777 1.6 3.9 5.5 3.0 1.3 1.2 1.83 1.75 11.9

The difference?
-Blocks and steals are down. He doesn't have the legs he had in 2004 and won't see his career average in blocks ever again.
-More rebounds, which he was fighting Harpring, limited minute Ostertag and Collins, and a pitch in effort from Gugliota over. Not exactly strong competition from your own teamates.
-More points from more opportunities. Again, he was fighting Harpring for the top scoring spot. Jazz had to use him.

AK is having the same year AK always has. His "fall off" year, 2006-2007, he was against four better players for points (Boozer, D-Will, Fisher, Okur + Harpring) and a pretty darn good overall rebounding team. This tells me AK was never a superstar and his contract was a mistake. There's no difference from AK playing with or without Williams. He was the best player on bad teams and stood out because of it, got a boatload of money, and ended up looking worse when his teammates got better. Again, his only team competition was Matt "Frysauce" Harpring.

He was a late season Dutch in a Chinese nursery. Dude looked huge in comparison, but really never was.
 
LogGrad98 said:
While by and large I agree with vj's assessment, I think in all fairness to AK it is reasonable to note that he does perform much better in a Lamar Odom-esque role. As point forward/power forward AK shines. That is what he was during his miracle year (remember the 5x5's...awesome). Ever since signing him to the new contract they kind if ignored what he contributed and how and proceeded to simply build another Stockton to Malone rather than perhaps building with AK as an important part of the franchise. Instead they gave him lots of money so he wouldn't leave then tried to pound that square peg into that round hole.

Now that said, I wish AK was not such a freaking *****. He needs to man up and play what the organization needed him to play and earn his millions, whether he feels all loved and mushy **** or not. Sure he had some injuries but the rest of the time he vacillated between trying hard and occasionally having a string of great games, and cry-baby mentally weak gangly uncoordinated pouty..um..guy.

If we could sign him to a more reasonable contract and if he could and would really play within Ty's offense then sure bring him back. If not, cut our losses and try to sign and trade for something.
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This.

I think it all stems from the Square peg issue. He is not super motivated so he easily gets down when he's not in the flow. And noted earlier, i can't blame the organization for choosing 2 man game of Boozer+DWill over AK.

Now if the team configuration is such that AK can get back into his role, then great, keep him (as some reasonable price.) But if the game evolves back to a AJ+Harris primary focus, then he's better elsewhere.

I don't think history is an exact predictor - unless the conditions are exactly the same. So the fact that AK has "never gotten better" or "leaves practice first" could be mitigated if he was given what he wants - a more appropriate role for him. I'm not saying these things WILL change, just that they COULD.

When i play with certain players, i dog it a bit, becuase they'll never pass, crush the offense, etc. When i play with other players who are excellent facilitators, i run harder, d up better, and look for the ball constantly.
 
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