An interesting twist in this article on hoopsworld. Carlos Boozer to the Lakers Imminent By Eric Pincus for HOOPSWORLD.com Feb 21, 2005, 06:17 Email this article Printer friendly page [ ESPN's The Game - Live from ESPN The Weekend] According to Jack Haley of Fox Sports West, the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz have completed a trade sending Caron Butler, Devean George and Vlade Divac to the Jazz for Carlos Boozer. Haley first leaked that a trade was being discussed on Friday night (Southern California Sports Report and Totally Basketball). Despite denials from all parties concerned, Jack indicated, Sunday night that the deal was simply waiting league approval and would be official within 24-48 hours. I have received numerous inquiries regarding the alleged trade from both Laker and Jazz fans. The biggest question that has been plaguing me since the news initially broke was why Jack Haley? No other source has been able to come out publicly with the rumor. Why would Jack, for three straight nights, air the story if it wasn't true? Why aren't the local papers running with it? Why was Jazz owner, Larry H. Miller, denying any such move minutes before Haley exclaimed the deal was done in LA? Jazz fans have presented numerous arguments why the trade is ludicrous. Citing their owner, GM, coach and assistant coach . . . they claim that Boozer is simply not on the block. The Lakers I was able to deduce from Haley's initial reports on Friday night (in which he did not name any names) the exact players supposedly on the move. (Laker Trade in the Works?). The key comment was host Lindsay Soto asking Jack if the Lakers were going to make a trade to improve their front court. From the Laker perspective, they gain a more balanced roster with Lamar Odom sliding over to his natural small forward position. Devean and Vlade are both injured, although George should be ready to go soon as he recovers from tendinitis in his knee. Losing Caron is a bitter pill the Lakers have chosen to swallow, but was deemed necessary to improve the roster. I have been arguing throughout the season that eventually the Lakers would have to move either Odom or Butler at some point in time. The combination of Chris Mihm and Lamar in the front court isn't strong enough to win consistently in the Western Conference. Odom is best at small forward and a legitimate power forward beside him was a move the Lakers had to make. With free agency a gamble and draft picks taking years to develop, a trade was the only logical conclusion. No one gives away something for nothing and Butler was the casualty. The Jazz A key factor for the Utah organization in this move is the fact that they had a miniscule payroll last season and barely missed the playoffs. Now, with commitments to Boozer, Mehmet Okur, Andrei Kirilenko, among others . . . they are, in all probability, a lottery team. Saving roughly $50 million dollars in the deal while acquiring a talented small forward in Butler may be the Jazz cutting their losses. True, Kirilenko has been injured for most of the season, but the talent drop off from Boozer to Butler is acceptable to Utah to the tune of $50 mil. Both Okur and Kirilenko can play the power forward position and Caron is a gifted scorer at the three. He's coming off of a 23-point, two-block, eight-rebound game less than a week ago against the Jazz which may have left an impression on the club. This is speculation on my part as I've had no contact with anyone within the organization. Conversations with numerous Jazz fans suggest that overwhelming that this will not be a popular move by the team. Owner Larry Miller was on Sports Beat Sunday and denied that there was a deal saying ""I have to tell you right now as honestly as I can that I would have a hard time imagining circumstances that would have us trade Carlos." With statements like that to refer to, Jazz fans are confident the deal is dead. But then there is that Jack Haley report to think about . . . Jack Haley Former player and NBA Champion (1995-6), albeit primarily on the Chicago Bulls' sidelines, Jack is currently the basketball analyst for Fox Sports West. He does the pre-game show for home games and is well connected within the organization, though I don't recall him ever scooping a big story such as this before. That's the key question, why is Jack Haley putting his neck on the line to say a trade has been completed (aired literally minutes after Larry Miller's comments) if he doesn't have absolute assurances that a deal is done? If he had just gone on air Friday with a rumor that didn't pan out that'd be one thing. On Saturday night he was naming names and saying it was nearly complete. That's pushing it, but he can always turn around and say the deal fell through. He'd have to answer to the Lakers and the network why he was airing unfounded rumors, but that's survivable. For him to exclaim on the third night that a deal has been reached, that's either a reporter looking to be fired . . . or a man with some very dependable sources. Now teams do lie to the media. They give small white lies, vague half-truths, and huge, whopping, bold ones. Though frustrating, it's understandable to a point as too much media involvement can get in the way of actual deals. Besides, players are affected by what they read. No point in upsetting the roster every time a potential trade pops up. In a way, if a team says there is no deal, they're technically being truthful. Until the league approves it, there technically is no trade to speak of. With Haley's reports, there's no question that local reporters have questioned both organizations regarding Haley's nugget, but the answer has clearly been denial . . . otherwise it would have been put in print and aired nationally. Why is Jack the only man with the story? Fox Jack works for Fox Sports. Fox is putting in their due diligence to compete with ESPN, the country's top sports network. A big trade involving on the NBA's marquee teams would be a huge story for Fox to scoop. If this Boozer trade is indeed factual, it would be a nice boost for the network's credibility and relevance. So it's good for Fox, but that doesn't explain why Haley is the lone voice of the trade . . . No Luxury Tax After teams with high payroll were forced to pay a luxury tax last season, projections have shown that there isn't likely to be a tax upon the conclusion of the current season. Apparently the Los Angeles Lakers have received a rather large, multi-million dollar balloon payment this year that will increase league-wide revenue such that the tax will be avoided. That balloon payment is coming from none other than Fox. So there is your answer . . . and yes this is a speculative leap . . . but it is very likely that the Lakers are giving Fox Sports the inside scoop. The two organizations are business partners and this represents the Lakers throwing Fox a bone. It's not unethical, it's not illegal. If you ask either organization directly, they'll likely deny it. But it makes a ton of sense . . . The Bottom Line Jack Haley is in the right place at the right time. He's the beneficiary of big business surrounding the NBA and should be congratulated for his role. Understanding how Haley got the information when no one else had a clue legitimizes his claim . . . expect Carlos Boozer to be a Laker in the next 24-48 hours. Unless, of course, Haley is wrong. If that's the case . . . well . . . um . . . never mind.
Hey guys ease up on Haley. He can't help it he had some brews at the bar with Marc Stein and Chad Ford in Denver. He got drunk with them, had a good time, and wanted to make a good impression upon 'em. so when your at the local sporst bar say "hey mr. bartender, i'll have a steinfordhaley cause i feel like being full of **** tonight"
Hmmm....I posted the link to that hoopsworld article at the end. It was there after I posted it but now when I came back and looked at it, its not there anymore. Wierd. here's the link again: http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_11689.shtml
Vec, as in Wreck, 's take: http://www.nypost.com/sports/40275.htm February 22, 2005 -- DENVER — Without further ado, yesterday's late report that the Lakers and Jazz had consummated a deal involving Caron Butler, Vlade Divac and Devean George for Carlos Boozer was so sloppily inaccurate Daily Nuisance NBA columnist Mitch Lawrence demanded to co-sign my byline. Considering the two teams never have discussed such a trade and Boozer is not being remotely marketed nothing could be further from the truth, scolds Utah GM Kevin O'Connor. Mere minor details! When Jazz owner Larry Miller recently verbally flogged Boozer for not always playing hard, the irresponsible inclination was to project he'd be traded before Thursday's 3 p.m. (EST) deadline. Aside to GMs: Get your request to put (another) one over on Rob Babcock in now. Regrettably, many in the media, including myself, missed the next day's account out of Salt Lake City describing a meeting in which Miller apologized to Boozer for singling him out and embarrassing him publicly. Bottom line: Everything was squared away and the two vowed to move on in tandem. Regarding my report of shoptalk between the Lakers and Kings regarding Lamar Odom for Peja Stojakovic and Bobby Jackson, both sides claim no such offer was made. Then again, both sides claim they turned it down. In reality, the above names were prominently put out there in more than one conversation and Stojakovic's agent was notified by management his client might be moved before Feb. 24. It still could happen. Yet, the guy the Kings prefer to kiss off is Chris Webber, who's close to averaging a triple-double over the last two weeks or so. On one good defensively exploitable leg! And, by all accounts, he's a pain in the posterior on and off the court, who's owed $50 million over the next two seasons. So much for the franchise looking forward, so to speak, to its future. In a concerted effort to dip below the salary cap next season, New Orleans is this space's nominee to make the most noise before the deadline. Bad back and bad contract ($63M over next four seasons) notwithstanding, Baron Davis is almost guaranteed to go, along some with lesser lights. I presume it's no surprise to learn the Raptors are offering to provide asylum for the puffy point guard ($12.3M), a squatter for all but 17 games. Sources say Sam Mitchell's pet antagonist Rafer Alston ($3.5M), Lamond Murray ($4.8M) and Donyell Marshall ($5.8M; currently, perhaps, the most desirable rising free agent) may want to start getting their Cajun groove on. Of course, Babcock may want to ask himself: "Hmm, if Davis is unhappy and unhealthy [his people swear to me he doesn't need back surgery] playing for a Bourbon Street Walker, why would anything change in Toronto?" Were Davis able to join Vince Carter and Chris Bosh at the hip, now we're chatting up a sparkling new outlook. As it stands . . . The glitch to the above scenario, as I understand it, is the 76ers, who, by the way, would love to plant Davis alongside Allen Iverson; the Hawks also are said to be interested in his perishable goods. Before the Hornets send Davis on his miserable way, they're determined to relocate Jamal Mashburn ($9.3M, $10M), whose retirement will become official at year's end (insurance will assume 80 percent of next season's salary) and Rodney Rogers ($2.7M) for Glenn Robinson ($12.07M). At the same time, Philly is holding tight because it, too, is in hot pursuit of Marshall, whose 3-point shooting fits in perfectly with Jim O'Brien's offensive philosophy.
That article is very difficult to read. As if the guy was just having some sort of brain spasms and spitting out random thoughts...
Peter used to send out his articles, before they were edited, to 13-16 people via AOL email from 2001-2004. For some reason, I don't get it, I was included in that group. I'm pretty lower rung as far as NBA journos go, and yet I was included with a bunch of old NBA types (Ainge, Walton, Isiah, John Nash, Dr Jack), and his articles were borderline unreadable. A complete mess. Great, hilarious, and, often, story-breaking stuff -- but, I still don't know why he sent them to me. The only times we talked in person, the conversation turned to Teddy Pendergrass and Grover Washington Jr.
Years back he was the best for breaking stories, but he seems to have outlived his usefulness. Consider yourself 'Peter Vec-blessed'.
Now, I know NBA teams can always say one thing and be doing another, but according to the Salt Lake Tribune, Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor actually called Boozer to tell him that he wasn't being traded. http://www.sltrib.com/jazz/ci_2581300 Boozer staying Among his standard trade-week duties, O'Connor added an unusual one on Monday: He phoned a player to say he wasn't being traded. Carlos Boozer, in his first season with the Jazz, was the subject of an uncommonly persistent trade rumor over the weekend, one that snowballed so prodigiously, it even was reported as fact by Fox Sports Network, plus its radio affiliates and Internet site. O'Connor, however, called the story "fiction," and said he would contact Boozer to emphasize that. "Normally, I would wait until I could [tell him] in person, but in this case, I will make a call so he hears it from me," O'Connor said. "There is absolutely no truth to these rumors." An official with the Lakers, the team cited by Fox Sports analyst Jack Haley as Boozer's destination, also denied that a trade was even being discussed. And another NBA official with knowledge of the Jazz's discussions said Haley, whose report was broadcast nationally on Monday, "doesn't know what he's talking about." Haley did not return phone messages seeking comment. O'Connor said he didn't believe the runaway rumors would damage the team's relationship with its 23-year-old forward - but they had an effect on himself. "Yeah, it's been a real pain," O'Connor said. "It takes away a lot of my time answering questions about things that don't exist."
I was wondering where Haley got to. Seems he's as good at his new profession as he was at his old one. Vescey's stuff actually looked legit for the first time in a while. Of course, he, Charley Rosen, and Mitch Lawerence all seem to devote space in their columns to attcking each other now. Gotta be fun when they get together. I'm all for it if the Kings blow up the team. One less squad between us and homecourt. Evan
Letting a guy become a restricted fa so that you can hope to sign him for the MLE is way different than what the Wolves did. The Wolves had the Joe Smith contract signed and locked up in a vault somewhere before he was able to be a fa. If you think what the Cavs did was morally bankrupt, then the obvious "wink wink" deals of Shandon Anderson, MoT, and even Barkley(when he signed for way less to get Pippen here) were just as bad. As far as this story, I ignored it because I thought it was another bad hoopsworld rumor. Then I opened it up and was surprised it was treated as legit. The Lakers don't have anything outside of Kobe that can touch Boozer. And Jack Haley? Cmon.
Man, that guy is either a genius or a complete moron. I am inclined to the later. There was just one freaking long sentence in several paragraphs. I wish kids werent reading it.
Well, maybe he is too deep for us average Joe to understand. As Chinese saying put it, stupidty is the greatest smart.
