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He deserves it. He's the franchise in Utah, he's already been an all-star, and he finished only behind Duncan, Garnett, and Shaq in plus/minus rating.
Looks like Marc Fleischer held out and the Jazz ended up paying. At first the Jazz wanted to pay $70M. Then 75M and they wanted Fleischer to come down a bit -- he wouldn't budge. In the end, AK got paid. Very interesting considering the Tony Parker situation.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1911290
Andrei Kirilenko and the Utah Jazz have come to terms on a six-year, $86 million max contract extension, sources close to the negotiation told ESPN Insider Chad Ford on Thursday morning. The agreement must be signed by Sunday, Oct. 31, the deadline for players who began their rookie season in 2001 to sign extensions.
Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor declined to comment.
As Insider first reported Oct. 22, the Jazz would defer some of the money beyond the six-year term of the deal. Under collective bargaining guidelines, up to 30 percent of a player's compensation can be deferred. That would allow the Jazz to enjoy a significant savings over the life of the contract. The two sides finished working out the details of the deferred money on Wednesday, paving the way for the deal to be signed this weekend.
The contract would run through the 2011 season.
Kirilenko could become just the third player to get a max extension this offseason. Kobe Bryant of the Lakers and Pau Gasol of the Grizzlies were the others. Gasol has had a portion of his contract deferred beyond the six years of the deal.
While $86 million might seem like a lot of money for a player who averaged 16.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, Kirilenko ranked third in the NBA in blocks per game and fourth in steals per game last season -- a rare feat for any player.
The Jazz initially balked at paying the 23-year-old Kirilenko the max but found themselves in a difficult position once Gasol signed his extension. Many league insiders believe Kirilenko is a better player. He already has made the All-Star team, and at least one key stat suggests he's one of the most valuable team players in the league.
Kirilenko ranked fourth in the league last year in the critical plus/minus stat, behind only Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal. The plus/minus stat measures how a player's team performs while he's on the floor and while he's on the bench. Because plus/minus has nothing to do with individual statistics, teams value its ability to reflect a player's impact on the game.
So far, only four fourth-year players have signed extensions: Gasol, the Nets' Richard Jefferson (6 years, $76 million), the Grizzlies' Shane Battier (6 years, $37 million) and the Bobcats' Primoz Brezec (3 years, $8.25 million).
He deserves it. He's the franchise in Utah, he's already been an all-star, and he finished only behind Duncan, Garnett, and Shaq in plus/minus rating.
Would you trade Parker for him?
If I consider their talent levels alone, Yes. AK47 is the better player.
Would he be a better fit? I think he'd be great on the Spurs. But his contract would make it very difficult for the Spurs to quickly come up with a point guard solution. At this moment, making the trade would create a problem for the Spurs. But I think I would still do it. The Spurs might be able to use Barry, Manu, Brown, or Bowen to acquire a serviceable point guard.
A lineup of an average point guard, Manu, AK, Duncan, and Rasho could be championship worthy if the Spurs could keep some depth.
It's a really tough call, but I think I'd do it.
I don't think I would.
You can find wingmen, we've got several in the wings waiting there. As long as Duncan here AK47 wouldn't have his talents maximized, and for what he'd cost, that's not a good thing.
Parker is a scoring point, which is what an offense oriented in the post needs.
jazz were smart spurs are stupid
jazz know they have trouble in past in getting fa's
you would think sa would learn
Ducks, do you like the New York Knicks?
Kirilenko is the most overrated player in the league. Matt Harpring put up better numbers two years ago than Kirilenko put up last year. The only reason Kirilenko's numbers went up last year was because Harpring went down with an injury.
The only reason he got numbers was because he surrounding four players were so bad. Now that there is talent on Utah, his true worth is going to be shown.
Boozer, Okur, Giricek and a healthy Harpring and impoving Carlos Arroyo, will make Kirilenko seem very ordinary.
I agree Timvp, I am not overly impressed with AK, his shooting is good, but other than that, hes long, hes uh, white, and uh uh, oh, he can dunk.
The knicks are a trainwreck....are you seriously equating their front office blunders to giving Parker 2-4 million dollars more over a six year contract???
Good Point guards( behind centers) are the second hardest position to come across. We have one with the potential to become great and the front office is playing games (yet again). Parker is not asking for the Max. When it comes to this amount they are reportedly at a stalemate for...I have to side with the player. They were 4 mil apart and Parker would go with meeting in the middle(apparently). The front office is gambling big and stupid. There is nothing to gain. What player of consequence will an extra $330,000 more cap get them? Cheerleading scrub, maybe?
AK47 is more Scottie Pippen than Michael Jordan.
Which is ok.
A team probably won't win a le with Kirilenko being the teams best offensive player -- but ideally he is as good of a second option on a championship team as you could get right now. At least that's the way it seems based on what he did last season with 4 mediocre supporting players.
With more surrounding talent his numbers probably won't jump much offensively, if at all -- but as an all around player he is amongst the best the league has to offer.
Fleischer might be a slime ball, but he certainly got Kirilenko his jack.
I hope they get something done, but who's to say that the front office didn't already meet somewhere in the middle at $64 million? It could well be that TP and Fleischer are the ones holding out here. $64/6 is Arenas money and a very fair deal IMO.
That's what I'm thinking. Until we know what concessions have already been made by each side, it's hard to pin blame on anyone.
I'm not equating the Spurs with the Knicks. I'm trying to show that poor financial decisions can kill a team's chances to contend.
They were $4 million apart at the end, but who's to say that the Spurs haven't conceded $12 million already?
I'm all for Parker getting paid. But I don't think it's such a gamble. Either you pay Parker like the third-best point guard when he's not or you let him prove what he can do this season and re-evaluate during the summer.
I for one would not gamble away the possibility on 4 mil. Of course 64 mil sounds reasonable....but does 66 mil then become unreasonable?? Keep in mind this is over a 6 year spread. I don't know that the Spurs have not made concessions but I would think the journalists covering the Spurs would have that info...they are usually pretty good at getting close numbers.
Kori said it best:
"Or else it will become ridiculous, if the Spurs would have offered $68M, then I guarantee that Fleischer would be holding out for $72M right now."
The Spurs have to have a limit. If they don't, it's an invitation to fight for the max right now.
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