The NBA rewarded rookie Andrei Kirilenko on Wednesday.
 
The Jazz took care of Kevin O'Connor.
 
Kirilenko, the 20-year-old forward from Russia, was selected to participate in the 2002 Rookie Challenge on All-Star Saturday (Feb. 9) in Philadelphia.
 
O'Connor signed a five-year contract to remain as Utah's vice president of basketball operations. Financial terms were not announced.
 
Calling the next five years a critical period for the Jazz, who will "undoubtedly be undergoing some changes," team president Dennis Haslam called O'Connor "the architect" of what's to come for a franchise that hasn't endured a losing record since 1983.
 
Owner Larry Miller agreed that there will be much work for O'Connor to do: "We are going to need people who are not faint-hearted," he said.
 
Apparently, Miller plans to be part of the management team that will tackle those challenges.