Time to let Booz go?

Posted by Brian McCann on December 24, 2008

I don’t subscribe to the local newspaper. I live in St. George, and over my lifetime, I have come to realize local news can lack perspective. It’s just my opinion, but especially as a sports fan, local newspapers can be really annoying. I mean the Jazz can win a huge game against the Lakers that puts them in the playoffs, and the next day on the front page of the paper will be a picture of the Hurricane High School track team. On page three there might be a few sentences about the Jazz (memo to local sports writers: unless your kid is on that team, you don’t care about varsity track).

I do, however, read online versions of several larger papers daily, and I have been really interested the last few days to read what the Salt Lake and national news papers have been reporting about the Carlos Boozer ordeal. I am sure everyone is familiar with boozer’s comments last week in New Jersey. Not only did he shoot himself in the foot, he also felt it necessary to shove the foot straight down his throat. I really don’t know what he was thinking. He might not have meant it the way he said it, but what’s done is done, and Jazz fans are irate.

I have always liked Booz. I don’t think he is faking his injury, and I don’t think he faked his previous injuries; he is a pro athlete, and he didn’t become a two-time all-star and two-time Olympian by being lazy. I do think however, that he might be focused too much on what’s best for Carlos Boozer rather than on what’s best for the Utah Jazz. As Jazz fans, we have been spoiled. Stock and Karl were animals. Let’s face it, if they were in this position, they would have slapped a knee brace on, sat out practice, and you would have never heard another word about it. Would they have been 100%? No. Would they complain about it? No. But the fact is, as much as we want Carlos Boozer to be Karl Malone, he just isn’t.

So what do the Jazz do now? Carlos will be offered max money by someone next year, and the Jazz cannot afford him. Regardless of what you think of him, he is a twenty-ten guy, and despite what some people have been saying on the web, those guys are not a dime a dozen. He is a great player, and he has not hit his prime yet. I don’t think he hates Utah, and I think he would stay if Utah put enough cash on the table. But is that what is really best for the Jazz? Utah already has two max players. The Jazz could trade AK to free up some space (I love the guy, but he is not worth his paycheck). They could go into the luxury-tax realm (despite Larry Miller’s past statements) and try to resign everyone. Or, they could trade Booz or Milsap, make the team better, and focus on paying one or the other what they feel they are worth.

I love sap, because he reminds me of a young Malone. He has a lot of raw talent and he’s tough as nails, but fact is, at this point in his career, he is not as good as Carlos Boozer. He does however, have a huge upside. He comes to play every night, and will only get better. Plus, he will be cheaper to sign. I think at this point, it is clear that the Jazz need to do something. The Jazz, in my opinion, at this point in time are not a championship team, but I think they will be. Can they reach that level this season? Maybe, but they are still young and it shows. If they decide to trade Boozer now, they might be able to find a team like Memphis that will be willing to give up a big name for Boozer’s expiring contract so that they can start over. Maybe they could even convince Toronto to let Bosh go for Boozer and another player or two. That is probably wishful thinking, but it could happen.

When it comes down to it, the Jazz have some big decisions to make. If I felt Utah was a championship caliber team right now with Boozer, I might say let the off-season play itself out, but I really feel that while Utah is close, Carlos Boozer might not be the player to push us over the top. If the Jazz trade him now, they will get a fairly good return. If they don’t, he might leave just the way he came. After all, he is getting a raise “no matter what”.

7 Comments

K.Wake on December 25, 2008 said:

The Jazz need to get rid of Boozer, no doubt he is faking his injury, or he is just being a p####. Look at how many games this guy has missed in his career, GIVE ME A BREAK! Then Right before Christmas he says his injury got worst, from what the exercise bike! Then he needs to go to LA for better treatment? Wasn’t he supposed to come back week’s ago? He is a fake, he has no heart, he would be happy playing for a a 1 win team making more money than a Championship team making the same amount. Not to mention he is a choker! Remember the Conference Finals against San Antonio, and last year against LA, he wasn’t even relevant. We need to trade this guy, REMEMBER WHAT HE DID TO CLEVELAND, THE MOST HATED MAN IN CLEVELAND, SOON TO BE SLC. PLEASE TRADE BOOZER, ‘CAUSE WE WILL NEVER WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP WITH HIM. Get rid of that SOB. O’Connor you have made some stupid moves, and some great ones. But none bigger than this one, please don’t mess this one up!

Jared Conger on December 26, 2008 said:

it will take some years before we get someone as good as boozer. oconnor has made more great moves than you’ll ever know kwake.

we could be in some serious trouble if we didn’t have such smart player movement and contract coverage.

we won’t get out of the first round if we don’t have boozer this year.

Linda McFarland on December 26, 2008 said:

Welcome back Jared, I haven’t seen your name in awhile..I agree with most of what you said except that it would be interesting to know who the players feel about the situation. I realize it is a job for them but I truly think this kind of “job” needs real cooperation between players and a lot of that depends on how they feel about each other. I am super happy that we have Booze when he plays but when I realize how many games he has missed since being signed by the Jazz, I get really mad!! It will be interesting as to how this one plays out. P.S. I think O’Conner is one of our best assets.

jazzaddict on December 27, 2008 said:

To everybody who says the jazz are better with Boozer than Milsap. First of all, we were better with Boozer in the starting line up for one reason… Milsap was coming off the bench! The jazz are just as good or better with Milsap in the starting lineup (saving 10 mill). The main difference is, that Milsap doesn’t have Milsap to sub for him. So the worse record is directly related to having a weaker bench with Boozers injury. Now that Boozers out, we lose Milsap off the bench. Therefor, the team will look worse! Keep Milsap and let fragile Booz walk. Use the extra cash for a more reliable big that plays more than every other year (118 games missed and counting).

Mal on December 27, 2008 said:

I get a pit in my stomach just thinking about all this. No matter how good Boozer is, I’m not sure he’s worth this tummy-ache.

J R Stewart on December 29, 2008 said:

The Jazz won’t be able to afford him, unless other teams spend their money before Booz can land a free agent contract. If that happens, we may get a bargain. His injuries, playoff performances, nights off and Olympic performances could make teams shy away and he may not get his raise.

If you don’t trade him, at worst the jazz get 11.7 to 13 million to spend and an open roster spot.

Millsap, Fes and Kosta are young, improving and cheap. We’ve just started to scratch the surface on their talents and all three will make close to 1/2 of what the Jazz might have to pay Booz.

If you could make a favorable trade, especially one on the low side of the salary (25%) exchange and a draft pick. The Jazz could pick up a talented player, some salary savings and a draft pick.

Jazzaholic

Mark on December 31, 2008 said:

The truth is the Jazz will never be a championship team because Miller won’t do whatever it takes to win. (That’s not a bad thing cause I don’t want a team full of thugs either) It’s just the way he wants to run the team. No luxury tax, good players for the society, etc.

What that does mean is Boozer will move on next season and we will get nothing in return. Especially now that Booz is having surgery. They should have made a trade once he made those statements. They missed their chance.

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