Boozer to Jazz! Can Rockets make TE deal with Cavs?

I think 300K or 500k extra would be easy to do....my examples could still be modified to add about 700k, with some tweaking. That would definitely be enough for them.

 

If they're going to trade Big Z, they're going to trade him to a team that will take the full contract in its whole -- which would leave them with the money to re-sign Boozer.

I think when it's all said and done the Cleveland will have no Booze.

But it's quite funny that Cleveland is calling Boozer a liar and really ripping him.......so do they really want him back?

Also heard that Boozer contacted Cleveland and TOLD them not to match.

So it's obvious he doesn't want to go back to Cleveland....

 

Source? Link?

 

Some radio personalities believe that 68 million is too high a price to pay for Boozer. The rationale is this:

1) only has shown one good season
2) played in a weaker Eastern conference and didn't have to bang with the western PF likes
3) undersized for the most part as a PF

I agree somewhat with this. I think about Andre Miller who had a breakout season as league leader in assist, left Cavs for a big contract in Clipperland, and has really never done anything close to that one great year.

Cavs made a big blunder and it may not be a good idea to make up for that mistake by trading away parts of your team just to resign Boozer. That's just my 2 cents.

 

Could Cleveland match the offer (somehow... someway) and then turn around and trade Boozer? At least that way, Cleveland could get something out the deal (assuming there's too much bad blood between the two parties for Boozer to stay in Cleveland). Maybe then, Paxson won't look like a total moron.

 

If I were the GM, thats what I would do. Cleveland could dump us a backup Center & PG for our TE, and then turn around and trade a YOUNG talent in Boozer for probably some very good talent.

 

Yeah - that looks like a winner. Cleveland could turn Boozer into Webber or SAR, or maybe Ray Allen, or maybe Kmart, or what not.

................................

As to why we'd want to take Big Z and get rid of Mo Taylor -

Reason 1 - Mo Taylor gone. Yay. He has 3 years left - Z only has 1
Reason 2 - serviceable backup center - we need one
Reason 3 - very tradeable asset - expiring contract
Reason 4 - We get something of value when we trade him - We could trade Z for another max player if Les had the stomach to pony up all that cash. More likely, we'd trade him and another guy for a package of players - one really good/promising one, one with a bad contract. They'd be the same kind of deals we've been proposing with Mo Taylor for other teams bad contracts and a player we want - it's just easier now with Z and the expiring contract. OR we could trade Z like we traded Glen Rice - and take back a small contract and ANOTHER TE - that won't expire for another year.

 

It was on ESPN Radio......

 

I was thinking on pretty much the same line. I think it is possible that with some creativity involving 3 or 4 teams Paxon could land Shaquille O'neal, even though chances of happening is very remote.
Ilgauskus + Boozer + Some srub sounds much more enticing to LA than Miami's proposal. Boozer will provide young talent that Kobe was referring to and Ilgauskus' contract will come-off the books next year thus giving LA a run at free-agency next year. James and O'neal, on the hand, will provide Cavs a dynamic duo that should be good enough to make the playoffs regardless of players that suround them. I think it is within the realm possibility that our management could, by being creative, not only net some talent i.e. Beatie but also throw some bad contract into the mix.

 

I would be surprised if they could just sign and trade Boozer like that, after he signed the offer sheet.

aelliott/GATER/NIKEstrad?

 

If the Rox could dump MT, get Z, and at the same time screw the Jazz.

Hell, that would be almost as sweet as a championship.

 

dang, this doesn't look like a team that will match ...


<a href="http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/9119688.htm?1c">Cleveland paper (AP): Cavaliers feeling "Bamboozered"</a>

Posted on Fri, Jul. 09, 2004

<b>Cavaliers feeling "Bamboozered"</b>

TOM WITHERS
Associated Press

CLEVELAND - On the same day Carlos Boozer was officially named a U.S. Olympian, he went for the gold - $68 million worth.

After giving Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund his word that he would sign a long-term contract with Cleveland, Boozer instead agreed to sign a free agent six-year, $68 million offer sheet with the Jazz.

He's bolting after breaking a promise, just like Art Modell did before him.

Shocked doesn't come close to describing the mood Friday in Cleveland, where sports heartbreak and disappointment - losing the Browns and Indians Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome in recent years - are a way of life.

This one hurts deep for Gund, general manager Jim Paxson, the Cavaliers and LeBron James. They believed in Boozer, the muscular power forward from Duke whose strong work ethic was matched by an outgoing personality.

"LeBron's disappointed," said his agent, Aaron Goodwin. "It's unfortunate because Carlos gave them his word and the Cavaliers gave him their trust. They were just trying to do something good for the team.

"This will change the way they do business from now on. It's going to have a lasting affect on a lot of things."

The Cavaliers didn't think Boozer would betray them. They were wrong.

Boozer's stunning reversal has even given birth to a new word around town: "Bamboozered."

The Cavaliers never dreamed things would turn out this way when they declined to pick up Boozer's $700,000 option for next season, putting him on the market as a restricted free agent.

It was a surprisingly risky move, but a calculated one.

Gund and Paxson only granted the limited free agency because they were given assurances in face-to-face meetings with Boozer and his agent, Rob Pelinka, that Boozer was happy in Cleveland and intended to stay.

The Cavaliers felt they had a unique relationship with Boozer and his wife, CeCe. Boozer told the club that the lure of big money wouldn't matter.

Last week, Boozer reiterated that sentiment in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.

"I want to be in Cleveland, I like it here. I want to be with the Cavaliers," he said. "Good things are happening. My wife and I are very, very happy here."

Something or somebody changed his mind. Boozer is expected to sign Utah's offer sheet on July 14. The Cavaliers will then have 15 days to match it.

Pelinka hasn't returned several phone messages seeking comment. Boozer's cell phone has been out of service the past two days.

Before Boozer's improbable reversal, the Cavaliers thought they had his situation under control. The plan was to sign Boozer to a six-year, $41 million deal - the most they could offer under NBA rules - next week when the league's moratorium is lifted. They would keep him to be a running mate for James.

But it backfired when Boozer reneged on his verbal agreement and the Jazz swooped in.

There is still a remote chance the Cavaliers will try to keep Boozer. They can match Utah's offer, but only if they clear out upward of $7 million under the salary cap.

Cleveland is currently only about $3 million under the cap and would need to trade or renounce the rights of several players to keep Boozer.

But is he worth gutting the roster? Boozer emerged as one of the league's young stars last season, averaging 15.5 points and 11.4 rebounds. He played with energy every night, serving as a perfect complement to James.

Boozer also was a leader. Unfailingly polite, he greeted media members, security guards and Cavaliers employees with warm smiles, handshakes and hugs.

Those gestures now ring hollow.

Boozer's departure comes just days after his college coach, Mike Krzyzewski, turned down millions from the Los Angeles Lakers to stay at Duke.

Although he may not follow Coach K's lead, Boozer has always trusted his instincts. Last summer, he got a tattoo of a guardian angel that covers his entire back.

"It's my inspiration," he said. "I feel like I've always had an angel watching over me. Everybody has choices to make, and it just seems like all the choices that I've made have been in the right direction."

If the Cavaliers do have one thing going for them, it's that Boozer has not yet signed his deal. For now, the Jazz only have Boozer's word that he will.

They can only hope it's enough.

 

everyone knows they would take the 28 million over a dumb verbal agreement. Blah blah balh.

 

yes, but that has to do with real world dollars, not cap dollars. as NIKE's post says, frontloading doesn't affect the cap situation, and for strictly NBA purposes, the cap is all that matters.

frontloading matters for hitting the owner's checkbook earlier than normal. whereas you would normally pay a guy a slightly increasing amount each year according to his contract, frontloading means you might have to pay him a quarter of the contract right off the bat. now if you plan on keeping the guy around or aren't a cheap ass, that doesn't matter much. if you're donald sterling, only looking at the bottom line, that does matter and will keep you from matching, which it did. that's why they frontloaded, because they knew sterling wouldn't pay that much upfront, not b/c it messed with the clippers cap.



and damn, after reading that article, boozer is looking pretty damn bad. is gordon gund blind? is he the guy in that commercial with lebron supporting some foundation for the eye condition he got that caused his blindness?

 

everytime i read more about this boozer fiasco, i'm just picturing CD and Les sitting around an office table smoking a cigar and drinking some cristal just waiting for the Cavs to call them about the TE....but that's just me and my crazy mind.

 

... further support of Clutch's points, and showing I was wrong on my suggestion that this was just a misunderstanding on a business deal ... geez, this IS bad ... there's so much bad blood developing here, I'm not so sure they'll match Utah's deal, or they wouldn't be putting out all this negative information ... which is not good news for us, because we only benefit if CLE tries to match.

<a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/ian_thomsen/07/09/paxson.boozer/"><b>Sports Illustrated: Thankless job:</b>
Paxson, Cavaliers pay price for trying to do right by Boozer</a>

Why would anybody want Jim Paxson's job?

Paxson, the Cleveland Cavaliers' general manager, is being ripped for allowing forward Carlos Boozer to escape as a free agent to the Utah Jazz.

Boozer was a second-round pick by the Cavaliers in the 2002 NBA Draft. Despite being a three-year star at Duke, he was ignored in the first round because many NBA teams believed he was too unathletic and small at 6-foot-8 (which is his true height, though he is listed as 6-9) to excel at power forward. But Paxson saw Boozer's potential and signed him to a two-year guaranteed contract for $989,000 (more than the minimum salary awarded to most second-rounders) with a team option for the third year.

Boozer turned out to be a steal. He averaged 15.5 points and 11.4 rebounds last year and earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. But Boozer was apparently worried about his longterm financial future. That's why he asked the Cavaliers to cancel their option for next season and instead allow him to become a free agent. In that case, Boozer promised (according to sources -- and common sense) that he would then re-sign with the Cavaliers for as much as $41 million over six years, the maximum they could offer a free agent with fewer than three years experience under their salary-cap constraints.

Paxson held all the cards on this deal. He could have ignored Boozer's pleas and forced him to fulfill the team option at a salary of $695,000 in 2004-05. Next summer Boozer would have been a restricted free agent, giving the Cavs the right to pay him as much as they wished along with the ability to match any offer Boozer received.

Instead, Paxson and Cleveland owner Gordon Gund nullified their option. They gambled on Boozer's word and set him free. According to a source who was in the room at the time the verbal deal was struck, Boozer told Gund, "If you respect me by not picking up the option, I'll show trust and loyalty to you by signing with you."

But instead of keeping to his word, Boozer agreed this week to a six-year, $68 million contract with Utah. (I tried, through a variety of sources, to give Boozer's agent, Rob Pelinka an opportunity to respond, but I was unable to reach him.)

Cleveland cannot match the offer because the Cavaliers are over the salary cap. The only way Cleveland could retain Boozer would be to dump several players and create more than $10 million of cap space, because Pelinka negotiated an offer that is front-loaded to make it that much harder for Cleveland to match.

"This is the worst thing I've ever seen," a top NBA agent told me. A respected NBA team executive confirmed the opinion in a separate conversation.

"There is no honor in this," the agent said. "You don't shake a man's hand, get him to do something nice for you, and then turn around and screw him."

The executive echoed the sentiments. "That was so bad. [Boozer and his agent] convinced Cleveland to let them out, and then instead of saying thanks, they said, '(expletive) you.'"

Paxson is being taken to task in the press for allowing Boozer to escape, but the short-sighted duplicity of a basketball player is the least of his troubles. Paxson's wife, Candice, has spent the past year fighting central nervous system lymphoma, a rare form of brain cancer. This week Jim and Candice flew to Portland, Ore., for the funeral of Candice's daughter-in-law from a previous marriage, Tina Kosmos, who died of cancer.

Paxson was trying to console his wife and family in-between calls from Pelinka, who, according to a source, matter-of-factly explained how he was reneging on his agreement with the Cavaliers.

Speculation has held that LeBron James is angry with Paxson for losing Boozer.

Not true, says James' agent, Aaron Goodwin.

"LeBron gave his thumbs up (to the plan enabling Boozer to become a free agent) because he believed his friend just wanted to be taken care of," says Goodwin. "He thought it was great that the Cavs wanted to help him out." Goodwin says that James was "disheartened" when he realized that Boozer was exploiting his free agency by negotiating with other teams.

Goodwin adds -- and I've confirmed this with other sources -- that Gund took personal responsibility for approving the plan to make Boozer a free agent.

"My understanding is that Carlos, his wife and Pelinka all gave their words to Paxson and Gordon Gund that Boozer would re-sign with Cleveland," Goodwin says. "By letting him become a free agent, Gordon was saying, 'I'm doing this to help the Boozer family, not just Carlos.'

"Gordon Gund isn't stupid. He knew there was a chance Boozer would leave if he let him out of his $700,000 contract. But he was [telling] the kid 'I respect you and I care about you and your family.' For him to get slapped in the face is wrong; even as an agent I have to say it's wrong. I talk to Gordon and I hear the devastation in his voice because he's from the old school, where if someone says something to you, you take him at his word.

"What Rob Pelinka did," said Goodwin, "was he figured out a way to get his guy out of his contract. And he lied to do it."

One can spin this any number of ways, but here's how I see it. On the court Boozer appears to be a player of integrity because he plays and practices hard. But if I were Paxson, I'd be glad he was gone. His integrity has a price tag of $30 million -- money that Boozer could have made up over the long run by playing alongside James.

I'm sure Paxson has his share of enemies who will accuse him of being tough, and possibly unfair, in negotiations; most of the contracts in this league are conducted on the edge. Some people will also point out that the Cavaliers were trying to sign Boozer to a smaller contract than he could have negotiated next summer.

But Boozer and his agent made their choice. Instead of rewarding Paxson, they are punishing the GM for doing a good deed.

The Cavaliers will now try to fill their power forward vacancy by applying their $5 million free-agent salary exception to either Antonio McDyess, who is coming off three injury-ruined years, or Vin Baker (represented by Goodwin), who is looking for a one-year opportunity to raise his stock.

But those are short-term answers. Over the long haul, you have to wonder if Jim Paxson, given all that he and his wife have been through in the last year, will simply say life's too short to be involved in this dirty business.


<i>Sports Illustrated senior writer Ian Thomsen covers the NBA beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com. </i>

 

Maybe they will match Utah's offer, and then trade the little backstabber.

I wonder if the Fakers would be tempted, and how they could possibly make the saleries match up.

 

WOW, quite an article by SI! Pretty much makes you lose all respect for Boozer in terms of values.