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Jazz wants Kirilenko to gain weight

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If you happen to see Andrei Kirilenko going back and forth between the Moscow Chuck-A-Rama all-you-can-eat buffet and the Red Square Gold's Gym this summer, there's a good explanation. In his year-end performance evaluation, the lean and lanky Russian athlete was told he needed to pack on some pounds. Jazz bosses are hoping the small forward doesn't return next season as such a, well, small forward. They want more beef on his bones. Those might be welcome words for many people, who could probably also handle the $16 million paycheck awaiting him after his offseason of pumping iron and plumping up. But for Kirilenko, this news wasn't exactly easy to swallow. He started the 2008-09 season weighing 226 pounds and said he shed eight pounds over the course of the hectic NBA year. Kirilenko didn't view his weight as a problem. For one thing, he's a basketball player, not a heavyweight boxer -- despite some resemblances that suggest otherwise. Plus, his weight loss followed a predictable pattern in which he usually drops about 10 pounds a season.

Deseret News

Andrei Kirilenko, AP Andrei Kirilenko, AP
May 8, 2009  06:34 AM ET

Don't be a girly man

May 8, 2009  07:31 AM ET

yeah remember Shawn Kemp puttin on a few pounds. He will not be as effective with too much weight on his frame. If you get too big your body is succeptible to injuries just ask David Boston.

May 8, 2009  08:07 AM ET

no more anxiety attacks where he cries because he can't shoot in the play-offs (just search youtube).

AK47....shud just work on his basketball skills.

May 8, 2009  08:11 AM ET

Right, cuz David Boston's problem was being too in shape. AK is like 6'9", and is obviously very thin...and frequently injured. I'm sure they don't want him to get so big that he's slower or less athletic, just more filled out to handle the rigors of an 82-game season

May 8, 2009  08:18 AM ET

This is a bad idea. The guy is effective being skinny and he runs like a deer. He plays tough defense and moves his feet really well. The Jazz are trying to make lose his effectiveness also by forcing him to gain weight. They're trying to make him into Okur or Boozer but why? So if they get Shawn Marion, are they going to force him to gain weight also?

May 8, 2009  08:48 AM ET

the guy is simply a skinny dude-
even if he WANTED to gain weight- he couldn't
unless he goes the Manny route and hits the female hormones

May 8, 2009  08:54 AM ET

your trainer should bee Miguel Cabrera you should call him up and see what to do.

May 8, 2009  09:05 AM ET

This picture makes him look like the world's tallest jockey

May 8, 2009  09:42 AM ET

Eddy Curry's wishing he could trade places with AK.

May 8, 2009  09:44 AM ET

Thats not his game.....they should look elsewhere for that move him and try to get Rasheed Wallace slide Milsap into the line up and they can make a transition that's needed

May 8, 2009  09:55 AM ET

He will not gain weight...some people can't keep it off and some can't keep it on...

May 8, 2009  10:19 AM ET
QUOTE(#9):

This picture makes him look like the world's tallest jockey

lol....
nice avitar as well.

May 8, 2009  10:30 AM ET

He probably has too good a metabolism...good luck!

May 8, 2009  10:50 AM ET

how about a face lift too.

May 8, 2009  11:05 AM ET

Bad idea here on the Jazz' part. His weight isn't an issue. He's 6 foot 9 and about 225 pounds. That isn't a problem.

He needs to be out on a court improving his game, and not in a gym trying to make himself look like Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV.

May 8, 2009  11:16 AM ET
QUOTE(#15):

how about a face lift too.

u are one to talk u should first tell pao and sasha to get decent haircuts instead of those shaggy mops they have on now...LOL!!!!

Comment #18 has been removed
May 8, 2009  11:37 AM ET

I would rather see him work on his shot and confidence during the offseason. He's never going to have a lot of mass to his frame. This is yet another example of how little the Jazz brass understand this guy and his game. They give him a huge contract and expect him to be the marquee guy, but then shift the offense away from him. He thrives on fast breaks and energy, but insist that he play a half-court offense where he doesn't have many plays called for him. The problem isn't how much he weighs it's that they don't know how to use him but can't get rid of him. Bravo Jazz, bravo...

May 8, 2009  11:48 AM ET
QUOTE(#16):

Bad idea here on the Jazz' part. His weight isn't an issue. He's 6 foot 9 and about 225 pounds. That isn't a problem.He needs to be out on a court improving his game, and not in a gym trying to make himself look like Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV.

Spot on! I can just follow you around today, and save my comments. Hell, he's a small forward. Are they expecting him to replace Boozer at the 4 spot?

 
May 8, 2009  11:56 AM ET
QUOTE(#20):

Spot on! I can just follow you around today, and save my comments. Hell, he's a small forward. Are they expecting him to replace Boozer at the 4 spot?

I wonder if that's what they are looking for. Personally, I like Kirilenko. He's not a star to build around but he's a solid player who's going to give you what you need on the court. There is room for improvement, as there is for any player not named LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, but I think Andrei gets more crap heaped on him then necessary.

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