Kirilenko to help rookie Hayward in 1st camp

He is competition, in a sense, the youngster who could some day succeed Andrei Kirilenko as the Jazz's main man on the wing.

But first-round rookie Gordon Hayward, No. 9 overall pick in last June's NBA Draft, is more than that to Kirilenko.

He's also a teammate now, and Kirilenko fully intends to treat the former Butler University star as such — even though he doesn't exactly know him very well yet.
"I think he's a great person, first impression," Kirilenko said. "As a player, we're gonna see in training camp.

"He's a young guy," the Jazz veteran added. "He's gonna make the same way that I did it 10 years ago. So, you know, I wish him good luck, and I'll try to help him as much as possible."
"He can shoot the ball well, which has never been my strong side. So, he kind of gets a little advantage (there)," the small forward from Russia joked. "But he needs to keeping working, needs to not be afraid of names in the NBA and other teams — just keep playing basketball."

Kirilenko isn't the only one who feels at a disadvantage compared to Utah's 20-year-old addition.

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan admitted as much when Hayward's "basketball IQ" was mentioned.

"That scares me when I read that, because I'm afraid I better not talk to him," Sloan said. "He's a very smart guy, wonderful person."

Still has a ways to go, though.

"He's ... a young guy, he's got a lot in his favor," Sloan added. "But the work still has to be done."