But here's the thing: You continue to hear rumbles that Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf is adamantly against the idea of setting Boozer free via amnesty, even though the 32-year-old is finally poised to enter the final year of his contract, valued in 2014-15 at $16.8 million. Sources briefed on Chicago's thinking say the Bulls are going to do everything they can to try to find a trading partner for Boozer before seriously considering the amnesty option. Bear in mind that Chicago essentially has until July 15 to craft a deal that finds a new home for Boozer after a season in which he lost much of his fourth-quarter run to Taj Gibson. The NBA's amnesty window this summer runs through July 10-16. (One bonus question we'll sneak in just in case Boozer does get amnestied: What are the odds his agent, Rob Pelinka, who also reps Kobe Bryant, urges the Lakers to put in a waiver claim for the former All-Star?) (Actually couldn't resist one more sneaky follow-up: Would the Bulls ever, ever, ever consider taking on J.R. Smith in a sign-and-trade deal for Melo if the Knicks agreed to take back Boozer?) Read Marc Steins column: http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/2220/summer-scoop-chicagos-next-step
The Chairman is adamantly opposed to hurting the bottom line on the P&L. I don't see the Knicks facilitating a S&T. We effectively ruined any trade value for him by talking bad about his play, and misusing him. That said, if he is amnestied, he will be picked up for $2-3M, IMO. He'd be a cheap replacement for Gasol in LA. He'd help quite a few teams who get less production at PF than he gave us this year (Charlotte for example). Boozer is no one trick pony. His defensive rebounding is elite - see http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/drb_pct_career.html. If he's not claimed, doubtful, the Heat would be a perfect situation for him. Or San Antonio. Or Dallas. Actual contenders, those three. Heck, for $3M, he'd be a great fit for OKC. But I think he's staying unless someone is willing to trade for him on the Bulls' terms.
I'm hoping that one of the reasons the Bulls made the Deng trade is that the money saved would allow the team to amnesty Boozer if need be. The guy needs to go. I was happy to defend him his first three years here, but his lackluster production and indignation means it's best for him to leave. I suspect he's bad for team morale at this point. I thought his play in the playoffs was terrible. He looked disinterested the whole time he was out there. For a lot of teams Boozer would be a nice guy to have but I don't see any teams tripping over themselves to have him on their team. I expect him to be picked up for something around BAE money. His time as an impact player in the league is in the rearview mirror. From a basketball standpoint there's no conceivable way it's in the Bulls' best interest to have him on the team next year.
Yeah, I think it does. Look at the Sox. He put together a winner but also blew up teams he didn't think were championship material. He does watch the bottom line but I do think he wants to win. I can understand not accepting a solution that involves just throwing money at a problem and hopeing the solution is in there somewhere.
Sure he loves bazeball but he isn't a comic book villian either. He made MJ the highest paid player in history. He begged Pip not to short himself on a long term deal. He pail JWill when by all rights he didn't have to. He paid big bucks for The Big Gong --a mistake but he spentthe money. Like I said he doen't shut his eyes and throw money but that is o.k. count Joe Dolan's rings to see how that works out. Cuban reigned in his freewheeling spending when it wasn't producing results.and his team's best years followed. Jerry makes an easy punchline but the serious blame placed on him is a gross oversimplification.
The list of who he didn't pay... A partial list includes Jamal, Curry, Gordon, Lu, Omer, Korver, Marco...
Jamal was ok not great in Chicago. Ben could score but lacked in other areas. Curry? Thank God for THAT deal. Lu? We'll see how that pans out. Omer? Korver? Marco? Like I said Jerry won't close his eyes and throw money. Was their upside really worth bucks?
Jamal wasn't asking for anything close to MAX salary. A bargain. We don't need scoring. 69 points wins championships? Basketball decisions. Nazr instead of Asik. Big foam finger?
Thanks to TB#1 and Denny for their well-played and nostalgic discussion. The Bulls have paid the LT (2012-13) and if not for the truly unique opportunity presented by the Deng-for-Bynum deal, would have paid it again for the 2013-14 season. The unfortunate part is that, due to Rose's inability to play, the Bulls had zero chance at the title in either of these seasons. As for Boozer, IMO he needs to go....for his sake as well as the Bulls. This became clear this season as Gibson established himself as a top-15 NBA PF. While everyone seems to hope for a trade for Boozer, I fear this option since I don't want to see the Bulls take on some other team's longer-term problem.
