<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">While the Jazz held their breath as today's first full day of the NBA's summer signing period approached, Carlos Boozer let his out. Boozer sounded off late Monday night, telling the Cleveland Plain Dealer he is being unfairly portrayed as a liar who backstabbed the Cavaliers before agreeing last week to sign Utah's six-year, $68 million offer sheet today. "Maybe they're trying to save face or trying to make up stuff and kill my character," Boozer said. "And if that's the road they want to take, that's OK." The Cavs claim Boozer led them to believe that if they would just trust him and not pick up the $695,000 option year on his deal for next season, he would remain loyal ? and presumably accept their six-year, midlevel-exception offer, which is the max they can pay him this year. With the midlevel salary figure for next season set at $4.9 million late Tuesday night, that deal would be worth $38.6 million ? down from the $41 million originally estimated that the Cavs had to offer Boozer. But there was no such agreement, says Boozer, who told the Cleveland newspaper he definitely intends to sign with the Jazz ? and would not even consider a last-ditch one-year, $4.9 million offer the Cavs made Monday. "I didn't make a prior agreement. And if I did, I would've stayed (in Cleveland)," Boozer said. "For (the Cavaliers to take) shots at my character is incredibly wrong, and I don't understand that. I thought I had a great relationship with them."</div> Link
If you take Boozer's version of the story, then the Cavs are nearly totally at fault for not contacting Boozer and asking him to re-sign instead of assuming he would. Still, the Cavs did him a huge favor by first giving him guaranteed money for a 2nd round pick, then letting him out of that $700,000 contract, and then offering several contracts that were as much as they could offer. If he didn't betray his word, he still did something that was far from honorable or commendable.
The only thing is that Cleveland not signing him is a really AMAZINGLY stupid move--UNLESS a promise was indeed made. It just seems so unlikely that a franchise would do something so stupid if they hadn't thouhgt it was a sure thing.
I would not trust Boozer's story, because if I were in his position I would make up the same story. First you betray a team; your image and public opinion is bad; you have no choice but to do somthing to fix it.
