"A proposed trade that seemed quite robust just last Friday was dying on the vine by Tuesday night, leaving Andrei Kirilenko — who would be in Denver by now had the rumored deal come to fruition — to wonder Wednesday what all the fuss has been about.

Moreover, it allowed him to savor the reality of being the rarity he is — an NBA player headed into his 10th season who has never played for any team besides the one that drafted him.

"I like that," Kirilenko said. "You know, I'm a pretty loyal guy. I like to play on the same team a long time."

And he has.

If Kirilenko still is with the club when its 2010-11 regular season opens Oct. 27 at Denver, he will join John Stockton (19 seasons), Karl Malone (18), Mark Eaton (11), Thurl Bailey (10), Darrell Griffith (10) and Greg Ostertag (10) as the only players to spend 10 or more seasons with the Jazz.

But among that group, only Stockton, Malone, Eaton and Griffith played 10 or more consecutive seasons with the Jazz.

And only two — Stockton and Eaton — played for just one NBA organization.

Kirilenko prides himself on joining the exclusive club, calling himself "kind of a one-team guy."

Even in his native Russia, he played professionally for only two: Spartak St. Petersburg as a youth, then Russian League power CSKA Moscow before coming to the NBA in 2001."