Last year Carlos Boozer was just another draft selection, a second round pick from Duke. Just another soft rookie from Duke, right? Wrong! Carlos Boozer has become perhaps just as big a part of Cleveland's success as Lebron James's rookie year contributions. Boozer has strung together quite the sophomore season, averaging 15 points along with 11.5 rebounds per game, boosting The Cavaliers into a likely playoff berth in The Eastern Conference. Yet for some reason Carlos Boozer slipped in the second round of the 2002 NBA draft and thus for the past two seasons has been paid minimum salary for his solid on court performances. This season his contract expires, after two years of being under paid and under valued, Carlos Boozer will be getting every penny he's earned. How much though is Carlos Boozer actually worth? How much is Cleveland willing to spend on the allstar caliber Power Foward? It's no secret The East is known for lackluster bigmen, but Carlos Boozer is simply an exception. Ten Million per season? Perhaps. Is Cleveland willing to fork over that kind of money or will Carlos Boozer going to have to market his talents elsewhere? What do you guys think? Boozer worth resigning? If so, how much is he actually worth? If not, where is he likely to end up?
He will probably ask for at least a Kenny Thomas-type deal. I think Thomas got 7 years 50 mil if I'm not mistaken.
Yea Boozer will probably get like a 7 year 60 million deal, maybe it'll start at 6-7 million first year. If CLE doesn't give it to him many many many others will jump on the opportunity.
7 yrs, 50 million sounds about right. he wont get offered more than that. He is a great player, but not a guy you could build a team around.
If Boozer was an aggressive defender he could ask for more, but like I have said all season, he has got to work on that part of his game.
The Cavs have a Team Option on Carlos for a third year at 695,000. Which means of course, that he can't get away until after next year if they exercise their option. So he's a lock for the 04/05 season regardless. Problem is they have had him so rediculously cheap for the numbers he's putting up, it would be an embarrasment to all if they were to force him to play for that kind of money. Lets assume the Cavs want to sign Boozer long term. With Early Bird rights, the most the Cavs can offer him this summer is the League MLE for 6 years. That would equate to about 5 million the first year with 12.5% raises each year based off the first year's salary, even if they are over the cap. Problem is he's worth more money than that. There are a miriad of nuances that are going to be involved in working out this dilemma, most of which we are probably not aware of. I could get into a few of them if anyone is intrested!! How much is he worth??.........The answer to the question is not simple........................Tank
^^^^^^ I could be wrong but isn't Carlos Boozer technically allowed to leave Cleveland next season if he wishes too? He was a second round pick, which only allows Cleveland two guranteed years, with a player option on the third. You saw it with Gilbert Arenas last season, he too was a second round pick for Golden State and after two seasons he decided he wanted a BIG contract and signed in Washington. Just a quick note, there's alot of decent free agents who came out of the second round of the 2002 nba draft. Carlos Boozer, Manu Ginobili, Mehmet Okur, Gordan Girieck, etc.
Best of my knowledge there were no option clauses in Arenas' contract, which left him free to move when his contract expired after two years, and he did!! Give Paxon credit for incorporating a TEAM OPTION into Carlos' contract, and they have him locked up for a third year at 695,000 if they choose. Unless negotiations break down, I don't think you'll see them exercise it. But thats always a possibility!!!...........................Tank P.S...The key words are "TEAM" OPTION........not "PLAYER OPTION.........Big difference!!
Yea team option means he has no choice but to stay if they want him too, I'm not sure if they can give him an extension from his current contract status but if they can (and he wants to), that would be the best option so he doesn't even have to test the free agent waters.
According to the way I understand the CBA!!........... A six or seven year contract can be extended when at least four years have passed since the signing of the contract. A four or five year contract can be extended when at least three years have passed since the signing of the contract. Contracts that have already been extended may be extended again after three years. Contracts for fewer than four seasons may not be extended!!.. And of course Carlos fits into the last catagory.......Tank
I would like it if Boozer got a contract that averaged no more than $6 million a year. The Cavs still have a lot of holes to fill and need to manage the cap well for the future. The Cavs have a habit of overpaying players they like and want to keep. They've gotten burned in the past by doing that although Boozer is a different player than guys like Kemp, Person and Sura to name a few. That Thomas contract with Philly made no sense. I don't know how they could give an average player like him $50 million over 7 years. Those kind of contracts really screw things up for other teams. I don't think we have to worry about Boozer going anywhere. The Cavs give every indication they'll do whatever it takes to keep Boozer.
I've got a feeling they're not going to get Boozer on the cheap. If negotiations break down, he may just let them exercise their team option, playout next season reaching full Bird Rights and become an unrestricted FA. If that happens, other teams are sure to be in the mix and he'll sign an offer sheet with somebody. Then the Cavs will have to match, and it'll be costly if they want to keep him. Look at it this way! P.J.Brown...................8 mil per yr Kenny Thomas............40 mil Kurt Thomas...............7.5 mil per yr Mo Taylor....................8-9 Mil per yr A Croshere..................8-9 Mil per yr None of these PF's produce what Boozer does. A good case can be made, if he's putting up Brad Miller and Lamar Odom numbers, he's gonna come close to their money. If the Cavs don't do it, someone else will. Utah for example has been kicking their own buts since they passed him up at # 19. They'd love to move Kirilenko to the SF and put Carlos in on the power side. And they've got the cap room to do it. Just the way I see it.............Tank
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting NarlCavs:</div><div class="quote_post">I would like it if Boozer got a contract that averaged no more than $6 million a year. The Cavs still have a lot of holes to fill and need to manage the cap well for the future. The Cavs have a habit of overpaying players they like and want to keep. They've gotten burned in the past by doing that although Boozer is a different player than guys like Kemp, Person and Sura to name a few. That Thomas contract with Philly made no sense. I don't know how they could give an average player like him $50 million over 7 years. Those kind of contracts really screw things up for other teams. I don't think we have to worry about Boozer going anywhere. The Cavs give every indication they'll do whatever it takes to keep Boozer.</div> Leave Kenny Alone he showed why he got the contract today against the Knicks, I was watching that game, good stuff. Thats about 7 million a year on average through those years. Thats really not too much since Kenny is averaging a double double for the Sixers and is a pretty good player, very quick PF and very aggressive.
Thomas is a decent player but $7 million a year is too steep for him. He can be inconsistent and isn't a player you can build around. I'm not saying he's bad but I think the 76ers even regret giving out that big a contract. Tankster, Good points with the comparision of Boozer to other PF's. I expect Boozer will probably get a deal worth at least $8 million a year although I'd like it to be for less so the Cavs can keep as much flexibility as possible with the cap. I do think Carlos likes it here, wants to stay and knows this team has a chance to do something special in the future.
Carlos and his wife CeCe do like it in Cleveland. He has said as much on a couple of occasions. And I'm sure he'll work with them to a point..........But... Take Z as a comparison. Z has all his money in a sock I'm sure. And a lot of it made while he was injured and not contributing. He's in a position to make a consession or two to finish out his career with the cavs. Carlos is in no such position. He's just starting and has been playing for chump change. I wouldn't expect him to compromise his future just because the Cavs needed to remain flexible within the cap. Bottom line! There's only 3.... count em, three..... 15 and 11 players in the entire league. Garrnett, Duncan, and guess who? Carlos Boozer! Just the way I see it.........Tank
I'm with Tank, although I don't believe Boozer will be leaving Cleveland, I do believe his worth on the open market is quite significant. In a day and age where QUALITY bigmen are a rarity, Boozer would certainly strike the interest of alot of teams with cap flexability. Remember, he averages 15 and 11 and he's only in his second season. The guy shows GREAT potential and I'm sure alot of teams would be more than willing to break the bank for an allstar caliber power foward like himself. Plenty of teams are looking for a bigmen to build around, although people claim Boozer isn't that "franchise" player, I simply beg to differ. If Boozer got 15 field goal attempts every game, I honestly believe he could be an 18 point and 12 rebound player. He's great around the basket, he can finish with both hands, he's very efficient, and he's got a very consistent jumper that extends just a few feet inside the three point line. In my opinion he should receive 9-10 million per season, power fowards are in demand on the open market, just look at Lamar Odom who struggled with injury during his contract year and was still rewarded with a 10 million dollar per season contract from Miami.
If it's worth resigning him? Sure, he's a great player, got skills, hell of a workhorse, grabs rebounds as no other on Cavs, can step up when LBJ is out (just check the results and stats from the Utah Jazz and Sonics meeting this year)
Here comes the scary part that hasn't been mentioned! There's one wild card here, lurking in the wings, that is gonna put a big wrinkle in the Boozer negotiations. The current CBA was set to expire 30 June 2004. The NBA had an option to extend it for a year and they did so. It now expires 30 June 2005. We can only speculate on the changes that might take place. They could be monsterous. I'll give you just a couple that might weigh in heavily. It's widely understood that the league has wanted to do away with guaranteed contracts for quite some time. There are pundits around the league who advocate that the Min/Max are a lock to change as well. There are no Strike and no Lockout provisions in the CBA as it is in force now, but no such guarantee if the Collective Bargaining Agreement is expired! Bear with me now. While I paint a hypothetical picture here. If negotiations break down between Carlos and the Cavs on a long term deal, and he deceides to let them exercise their Team Option. That puts him into unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2005. If the League and the Players Assoc. can't come to terms and a lockout or strike becomes a reality, Carlos in out in the cold for the duration with no income untill it's settled. From the Cavs standpoint, if they settle with him long term for big bucks, and the Mins and Max are adjusted downward with the advent of a new CBA, look what the potential dollar liability could be!! We'll only hear about it all after the fact. But I wish I could be a "Fly On The Wall" in the room where it all goes down! Just the way I see it................Tank
