Kirilenko for Jefferson? Not likely

The Salt Lake Tribune once again reported on the possibility of the Utah Jazz' Andrei Kirilenko being traded for the the New Jersey Nets Richard Jefferson. After AK-47 publicly criticized and the potential to be traded, the Jazz didn't respond, and after the season started, he's actually been pretty good overall and the "discussion" subsided.

But then, when the Jazz hit a downspin and now sit only 2 games over .500, with the combination of the Portland Trail Blazers suddenly looking Celtic-like, the trade rumors are swirling once again, and this seems to be the main one everyone keeps on bringing up. This wouldn't make sense for the Jazz--Jefferson is a scorer and has never really been known for much else; Kirilenko, on the other hand, brings much more of a complete game that the Jazz need--because they already have scorers in Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams.

If the Jazz are wanting to shore up their team and get back to how good they were last year, they don't need Jefferson. What they do need though is a possible big man or a defensive player to help Boozer down low, and perhaps they should look the way of the Chicago Bulls to get Ben Wallace or maybe even the Clippers' Chris Kaman. Heck, even Samuel Dalembert should be a great option--that they could get relatively cheap with maybe a draft pick or a couple of role players.

Put the RJ-AK discussion to rest. It's a one-sided trade altogether, and the Jazz would be doing themselves no favors. Unless Kirilenko really does something stupid, he should stay in Salt Lake City.

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Kirilenko for Jefferson? Not likely

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