Saying "no comment" no fewer than nine times, Kirilenko pledged that he was committed to playing his hardest and being the smallest distraction possible to the team even while standing behind his comments in recent Russian interviews.

"I think it's not good when we come into a season with anything negative,'' Kirilenko said. "Right now, it is what it is. I've already said everything and that's enough."

Asked why he would voice his frustration so publicly two weeks before training camp if he thought it wasn't good to enter a season negatively, Kirilenko answered: "No comment, guys. You don't know everything. I don't want you to know everything."

Not soon after, Sloan said his mission still was to bring out the best in Kirilenko. If it would mean victories for the Jazz, Sloan said, "I'll go out on State Street and give him a big hug," which drew laughs from reporters.

Whether he wants to be traded, bought out of his $63 million contract or just hugged, Kirilenko's future in Utah consumed the first day of the Jazz's new season, one they hoped would pick up right where it left off last spring in the Western Conference finals.

Instead, the Jazz have been given the "perfect excuse," as Sloan put it, should they struggle. The Jazz left Monday evening for the start of training camp today in Boise, Idaho, and whatever distractions Camp Kirilenko will bring.

Sloan and O'Connor both said Monday's meeting was positive, with Sloan adding, "He had some things to say and I don't have a problem with that." Sloan said he could coexist with Kirilenko and acknowledged his role in Kirilenko's disappointing 2006-07 season.

"I have to blame myself for Andrei's failure to be able to play at times,'' Sloan said in a 20-plus minute interview, "because maybe I haven't handled him the way he'd like to be and done the right things."

Kirilenko averaged a career-low 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds last season, his frustration spilling out in tears during the Jazz's first-round playoff series. His role is guaranteed to change, though, with Sloan considering moves big and small that could benefit Kirilenko.

That might include letting him handle the ball on one set or posting him up on a play when the matchups dictate. Just finding a way for Kirilenko to feel comfortable again on the floor is Sloan's biggest concern.

"He never said anything specifically about where he wanted to play,'' Sloan said. "He just wanted to be involved in more of the things that's going on. Sometimes that will happen and sometimes it won't. I think he understands that."

How much Sloan is willing to personally change is a different story. In each of his recent interviews, Kirilenko has complained about Sloan's negative coaching style, which Kirilenko claims includes repeated reminders to players about the millions they make.

"I've heard that before,'' Sloan said. "That's the not the first time I've heard that. A lot of people think I'm negative. But a lot of people like to play with me. That's the thing I think is important is that you play because you want to win."

Back for his 20th season coaching the Jazz, the 65-year-old Sloan didn't exactly embrace the possibility of changing his tone for Kirilenko.

"I can't change myself,'' he said. "I'm too old to change a great deal. As far as my tone, I want to try to help him when I can. I still have to coach a team. I've talked to other people about myself in that situation and the advice I get is you still have to be yourself."

Kirilenko, meanwhile, was asked how he could fully commit to playing for the Jazz when thoughts about leaving were filling his head. The Jazz made clear in Monday's meeting that they expect Kirilenko to give his best effort, the first step in any reconciliation.

For all the talk about hard work, though, Kirilenko was called out by guard Deron Williams in a recent radio interview as regularly the first player to leave practice.

"I just don't know how to work not at 100 percent,'' Kirilenko said. "I think that's why I made my name, being work hard at 100 percent. So that's what I will try to continue to do."

Does he expect to still be with the Jazz for opening night Oct. 30? "I don't know,'' Kirilenko said. "Right now, I'm wearing Jazz uniform, so I'm here."

Kirilenko said he didn't want to become a distraction to his teammates - "That's only my situation, so it shouldn't affect anybody else," he said - and blamed reporters for characterizing his misunderstandings with Sloan as conflict between the two.

O'Connor, the Jazz's senior vice president of basketball operations, said all sides would work together to help Kirilenko return to being a productive player. Owner Larry Miller is in agreement about not trading Kirilenko, O'Connor added.

"I think all of us go through stages in our lives where we're not happy and we're not comfortable with what we're doing,'' O'Connor said. "We also have to accept the fact that if you've got a responsibility, you've signed a contract and we except you to come and play.

"Now that doesn't mean he's expected to be a robot. We expect him to come and hopefully his teammates can embrace him, we can circle the wagons a little bit and move forward."

rsiler@sltrib.com

* Today: Training camp opens

* Saturday: Jazz return to Salt Lake

* Oct. 10: Preseason game against Milwaukee

* Oct. 30: Regular season starts

* Feb. 17: All-Star Game

* Feb. 21: Trading deadline

* April 19: Playoffs begin