Will Andrei Kirilenko Ever Escape Jerry Sloan's Dog House?

Andrei Kirilenko played just 17 minutes during Tuesday's loss to the Heat. In year's past, such little playing time would likely cause panic in Salt Lake City, as it surely would have signaled some type of injury. AK-47 averaged a career-high 37.7 minutes per game last season. That number is down to 29.8 minutes per game this year, and he hasn't played more than 28 minutes in over a month.

A Miami reporter asked Sloan if he was trying to send a message to Kirilenko with his paltry playing time on Tuesday. From the Deseret News:

Sloan bristled at the suggestion, saying he doesn't use games for that purpose. And then the Jazz coach delivered his message.

"I've got to do a better job getting him to play better, and that's just part of it. I don't know how to do that," Sloan said. "I can't do anything about him running the floor and that sort of thing.

"He's got to be able to do that, and keep himself involved. And if he's got shots, I don't have a problem with him taking shots. It has to be within some of what we're trying to do in the offense. I mean, I don't feel like I can give him the ball and let him play 1-on-1."

To the outside observer, it's hard to see what Kirilenko is actually doing different this year. For one, his .459 field goal percentage is nearly identical to his .460 mark last year, so shot selection can't be the issue. He's not making as many three-pointers, but (pro-rated for the minutes, at least) he's just as active rebounding and blocking shots.

Perhaps the biggest difference has been the presence of a healthy Carlos Boozer, who has pushed Kirilenko out of the power forward spot to the small forward position. And from the three, AK-47's floor-time is directly compared to Matt Harping, one of Sloan's long-time favorites.

But either way, something has to give. Kirilenko is a max-contract player, and it's simply not reasonable to think the Jazz will be content with their highest-paid player entering next season in the same role: the team's sixth-leading scorer who's averaging fewer than 30 minutes a game. Despite proclaiming last month that he'd rather not be traded, at this rate it'll be a surprise if Kirilenko is not made available this summer.