Booooozer

[Daimyo]

I'd think if Boozer turned down Utah's money to take the previously agreed upon Cavs deal the NBA would have to get involved because that would have been circumventing the rules. I bet they weren't expecting anyone else to offer that kind of money.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Two thoughts

1. If you as a defense are double teaming him the Jazz have one sorry roster.

2. At 6-9 he should have no problem.

I still maintain he was a great fit for the Cavs but nothing special elsewhere.

He will fit in well there too, I think, given Sloan's love for hard-nosed play. He just won't ever be worth that kind of money. But, hey, I'd rather have him for that price than Turkogulo or Okur for theirs.

The Jazz do have a fairly sorry roster, but they do have a near superstar in Kirilenko - who will likely keep double teams away from Boozer.

[The_herd]

Originally Posted by Daimyo

I'd think if Boozer turned down Utah's money to take the previously agreed upon Cavs deal the NBA would have to get involved because that would have been circumventing the rules. I bet they weren't expecting anyone else to offer that kind of money.

Not at all. Malone and Payton both accepted deals far below their market value so they could join the same team and attempt to get their ring. The NBA can't step in every time someone chooses a team that's offering less money.

The Cavs did no wrong here. They may been trying to save money in the long run, but they weren't doing anything wrong.

[Axxon]

Originally Posted by nfg22

Steve Christie? I dont know who he was in NFL, I know a steve Christie in basketball...U mean Jeff Christie? The center that came from the Vikings? Maybe I just dont have as much roster knowledge as I though....I knowthere was a kicker that was Steve Christie but I dont think he everplayed forthe bucs...They went from Husted to Gramatica. Im pretty sure at least

Nope, he played for the Bucs back when the NFL had plan B free agency. He convinced the Bucs not to protect him which they surely would because in those days he was one of the most talented players we had. He said he'd stick around and sign a new contract. Just like Boozer he didn't waste any time and bolted for the Bills.

I'm the wrong guy to doubt when it comes to Bucs trivia.

[The_herd]

Originally Posted by Samdari

The Jazz do have a fairly sorry roster, but they do have a near superstar in Kirilenko - who will likely keep double teams away from Boozer.

They really should have held on to Podkolzine. That got him so late in the draft that they really wouldn't have been taking much of a chance. The guy has some impressive potential and would have given them a very nice, young frontline. Instead, they now have 3 power forwards that are going to expect a lot of playing time. Kirilenko can slide out to the 3 on occasion, but Humphries and Boozer are strictly 4s.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by The_herd

The Cavs did no wrong here. They may been trying to save money in the long run, but they weren't doing anything wrong.

By negotitatiing a deal with Boozer as a FA before July 1, they broke NBA rules.

[The_herd]

Looks like his agent's career is in a bit of trouble.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1838569

SFX agent Rob Pelinka informed the NBA Player's Association on Monday that he had resigned as Carlos Boozer's agent, two league sources told ESPN Insider Chad Ford.

Pelinka's client caused a storm of controversy around the league last week when Boozer agreed to a six-year, $68 million contract with the Utah Jazz.

According to sources in Cleveland, Boozer and Pelinka approached the Cavs about letting him out of the last year of his contract June 30. Boozer could have been Cleveland's next season for $695,000, but the Cavaliers did not pick up their option after, the club said, Boozer had committed to re-signing for the team's full midlevel exception -- somewhere around six years and $40 million.

Blame Carlos Boozer all you want for breaking his verbal agreement, but Insider's Chad Ford points out that Cavs GM Jim Paxson gambled he could lock Boozer up long-term on the cheap and lost, big-time.
# Ford: Bam-Boozered
Become an Insider
Since that time, the criticism of Boozer and Pelinka has intensified around the league. Boozer and Pelinka haven't returned calls to any media outlet seeking comment.

In the wake of the controversy, a number of agents have claimed that they would resign if their client reneged on a verbal commitment.

"I'd resign immediately if a client wanted to renege on a deal, even a verbal one," one agent told Ford last week. "I still believe integrity in this business matters. If you agree on a deal, you have to live with, no matter what else happens. I personally believe that Boozer and his agent miscalculated a bit here. But I also understand what they did. Players want security. The Cavs can offer that. It just means he has to take less money to get it now. It's a tradeoff."

According to sources, SFX and Pelinka grew increasingly concerned in the aftermath of the agreement that Boozer's betrayal would sully the reputation of the agency and prevent them from conducting good faith negotiations with league owners in the future.

[stevew]

Im just tired of this whole situation. I hope the Cavs find a decent PF and we can get past this.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by The_herd

They really should have held on to Podkolzine. That got him so late in the draft that they really wouldn't have been taking much of a chance. The guy has some impressive potential and would have given them a very nice, young frontline. Instead, they now have 3 power forwards that are going to expect a lot of playing time. Kirilenko can slide out to the 3 on occasion, but Humphries and Boozer are strictly 4s.

Kirilenko plays as a 3 for the Jazz. The Jazz have Harpring at the 4 coming back from a serious Knee injury.

You have Collins and Okur at the 5 playing.

Humphries will bounce between the 4 and 5.

Jazz have Giricek and Bell at the 2 and Arroyo and Lopez at the 1. Snyder and Williams will be bouncing between here until they find out where they fit the best.

[The_herd]

Originally Posted by indoorsoccersim

Kirilenko plays as a 3 for the Jazz. The Jazz have Harpring at the 4 coming back from a serious Knee injury.

You have Collins and Okur at the 5 playing.

Humphries will bounce between the 4 and 5.

Jazz have Giricek and Bell at the 2 and Arroyo and Lopez at the 1. Snyder and Williams will be bouncing between here until they find out where they fit the best.

Thats nice, but Podkolzine at number 21 is most likely a much better value than they will get out of Dallas' 1st rounder next season. He's a fairly athletic guy that's 7'5" and he's only going to get better. Every doctor that examined him also said that his pituitary problem will not, in any way, affect his career.

I just didn't see this as a good move in a center starved league. They had a chance to have a very big front line with a lot of depth.

Regardless, we'll have to wait until next year to find out what they do with the Dallas pick. But until then I reserve the right to be skeptical.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by The_herd

Thats nice, but Podkolzine at number 21 is most likely a much better value than they will get out of Dallas' 1st rounder next season. He's a fairly athletic guy that's 7'5" and he's only going to get better. Every doctor that examined him also said that his pituitary problem will not, in any way, affect his career.

I just didn't see this as a good move in a center starved league. They had a chance to have a very big front line with a lot of depth.

Regardless, we'll have to wait until next year to find out what they do with the Dallas pick. But until then I reserve the right to be skeptical.

Don't get me wrong, I was pissed they traded him away.

BTW....this just in on sports radio. They just got off the phone with SFX.

SFX and Pelinka resigned being Carlos' agent because Carlos refused to go back to the Cavs cause he had the verbal. They want Carlos to be a man of his word.

However, after the verbal was agreed to by Boozer, no one has talked pretty much about this. Boozer asked for more touches in a meeting with Silas. Silas told him no. You are a hustleman, and you will have to live with it.

Boozer feels slighted and disrespected by the coach.

I doubt the 1 yr 5 mill offer that will be given to Boozer by the Cavs will be accepted.

From all sounds of it from SFX, Boozer will be here.

[miked]

I'll bet he still gets his commission. I think it's funny that the article implies that it was the negative publicity that casused the resignation, not the actual act itself. I'll bet it still damages the agent and SFX because people don't forget sometimes.

[TroyF]

A few things:

1) Those blaming Paxson need to take a step back. Gund was the guy who made the call on this. . . After Boozer AND his wife pledged their honor to him in a meeting.

2) Boozer engineered this, the Cavs didn't. The agent was talking about this as far back as the middle of last season. The goal was to secure Carlos Boozer's future. The Cavs payed him as much as they possibly could under the rules. Boozer knew EXACTLY how much that amount was when he pushed for the release. If he thought his market value was going to be higher, he should have willingly played out his contract. For him to try and throw this back on the Cavs to make it seem like they are the bad guys is kind of funny. This is a team that drafted him in the second round and gave him gaurenteed money even though they weren't required to do so.

3) The Cavs broke a rule not to get Boozer below market value, but to reward Boozer for playing as well as he did. This is a team who will have plenty of cap space next year. They are already over the cap this year. They aren't trying to be cheapskates in this thing. They have no need to be.

--------------------------------------------

I've thought a lot about this. Were I Cleveland, I do whatever it takes to get under the cap to match the offer. I then sit his ass on the bench for the entire year, offering the seats directly behind him to professional hecklers. I sign Charles Oakley to beat his ass everyday in practice. Then, when he becomes tradeable (out of his base year), I ship him to the worst team I can possibly imagine.

And before you say that's harsh and unfair, I thought about breaking his kneecaps.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I've thought a lot about this. Were I Cleveland, I do whatever it takes to get under the cap to match the offer. I then sit his ass on the bench for the entire year, offering the seats directly behind him to professional hecklers. I sign Charles Oakley to beat his ass everyday in practice. Then, when he becomes tradeable (out of his base year), I ship him to the worst team I can possibly imagine.

Actually he wouldnt be base year, but as a "matched free agent" he could veto trades for the first year and wouldnt be able to go to utah.

[Ksyrup]

I love this bit from SI's article:

Sources close to Pelinka's agency, SFX, say that the management group is seeking to distance itself from the agent. Later this summer, after Pelinka's client Kobe Bryant has signed with either the Lakers or the Clippers, look for SFX and Pelinka to cut ties permanently.


As soon as SFX gets its commission from the Kobe deal, then they can stand parting ways with the agent.

Oh, and they supposedly will be foregoing the commission on the Jazz deal, assuming it goes through, in an attempt to distance themselves from having any part in the negotiations. Which really won't work, since the guy did the negotiating, regardless of whether he passes on receiving compensation for that activity.

So, Boozer now has the chance at a big contract from the Jazz, and won't have to pay his agent! No wonder he's refusing calls from Coach K.

[stevew]

BOOZER FIRES BACK
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
Carlos Boozer has had enough of the character assassination that has pounded him since last week's announcement that the Utah Jazz have offered him $68 million over six years.

Boozer has been accused of lying and backstabbing the team and its fans because he allegedly told the Cavaliers he would remain in Cleveland. As a result, the organization allowed him to become a free agent, with the intent to sign him to the mid-level exemption of $42 million over six years.

According to sources within the Cavs' organization, Boozer told team officials that if they didn't pick up his option, he would sign with them.

Boozer, speaking exclusively to The Plain Dealer by telephone Monday, said that is not true and he wants to set the record straight.

"I didn't make a prior agreement. And if I did, I would've stayed here," Boozer said. "For them [Cavaliers] taking shots at my character is incredibly wrong, and I don't understand that. I thought I had a great relationship with them. Maybe they're trying to save face or trying to make up stuff and kill my character. And if that's the road they want to take, that's OK."

Everything was apparently fine when Cavs management met with Boozer, his wife CeCe and agent Rob Pelinka on June 30. These were friendlier times, when the two sides were prepared to talk about Boozer's future with the organization. The only thing that is clear about this meeting is that the Cavs decided not to pick up the option on the last year of Boozer's contract, which was worth about $700,000. This is where things get cloudy.

"I assumed they were going to pick up my option and work something out for the long term, but they went another route," Boozer said. "I was shocked that they didn't pick up my option. I left the meeting excited because this meant that I was going to get a long-term contract."

Boozer was surprised the Cavs didn't pick up his option because he said management gave him every indication in earlier informal conversations that they would.

So on June 30, according to Boozer, owner Gordon Gund and General Manager Jim Paxson asked him what was important to him. Boozer said that financial security and remaining in Cleveland were important.

"But during that meeting, it seemed like they were going down the road of wanting a commitment," Boozer said. "My agent pulled out the collective bargaining agreement, and he said that the rules don't allow a verbal or written agreement and everyone at the table understood that. During the course of that meeting, it was brought to my attention that [management] weren't going to pick up the option. They made that [decision] on their own."

Boozer said he had no idea why they Cavs didn't pick up the option.

"Maybe with me telling them that I wanted to be in Cleveland and wanting to have security could've made them believe I was going to sign with them, but that wasn't an agreement," Boozer said. "I never gave them my word, never signed a document and I never shook hands with the idea that I was going to sign."

The two parties met again on July 1. Boozer said this is when Paxson told him what the midlevel exemption was worth. During the Fourth of July weekend, Boozer met with Cavs management and they continued to discuss his future, and they talked about his role with the team. This was the turning point during the negotiations.

"During those conversations, I asked those guys about my role on the team, and I expressed to them the direction I wanted to go individually and with the team," Boozer said. "I wanted the chance to become an All-Star and some [in the meeting] didn't think I could accomplish that here. One primary person didn't believe I could."

That primary person, according to an unnamed source in a published report, is coach Paul Silas. From there, Boozer said he told the organization that he would explore his options.

"I called Paxson and Gordon and told them what was out there and the situation that was presented to me in Utah," Boozer said. "They told me 'You can't do this, you gave me your word.' I told them that I didn't give them my word. The only organization I gave my word to was Utah. I called [Utah GM] Kevin O'Connor and I told him that I accepted their offer and that's the only word I gave during this process. I plan to sign the offer sheet tomorrow."

Gund and Paxson were not available for comment. Silas was not available. He's in Oakland because of the his mother's recent death.

The Cavs, apparently, have not given up. According to league sources, the team offered Boozer on Monday a one-year deal for $5 million. If Boozer accepts the offer, he would become a restricted free agent next season. Boozer doesn't believe the Cavs' sincerity.

"Why would they try to sign me?" Boozer said. "They've tried to demoralize me as a human being. They tried to depict me as a kind of guy that bamboozled people. They've lied and painted a picture that we had an illegal deal. They tried to say we had an oral agreement before July 1, and that didn't happen."

There also are rumors that Boozer wanted out of Cleveland because of some animosity toward LeBron James, and that he wanted to become the top gun.

"I'm not saying I want to be the man," Boozer said. "I'm going to Utah where Andrei Kirilenko is already an established All-Star in this league, and they have stud players like Matt Harpring and Mehmet Okur. I feel mature enough, educated about the game enough and good enough to take on more responsibility. . . . Obviously, there's no question that the man on the team is LeBron, and he's well-deserving of it. There's no way I would try to overshadow him."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

[email protected], 216-999-6136

If only Gund could have looked into his eyes.

[stevew]

Boozer believes his own hype now. Good riddance you bitch.

[Ksyrup]

"My agent pulled out the collective bargaining agreement, and he said that the rules don't allow a verbal or written agreement and everyone at the table understood that."

Would the agreement they apparently reached have been illegal or not? I still haven't heard one way or the other. If so, this is him obviously trying to get himself out of hot water for what supposedly went down.


"During the course of that meeting, it was brought to my attention that [management] weren't going to pick up the option."

This was a phrase coached by an attorney. Clear buzz-word language that an attorney would suggest he say. He doesn't have to say it was discussed, it was just "brought to his attention."

Liar.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

"My agent pulled out the collective bargaining agreement, and he said that the rules don't allow a verbal or written agreement and everyone at the table understood that."

Would the agreement they apparently reached have been illegal or not? I still haven't heard one way or the other. If so, this is him obviously trying to get himself out of hot water for what supposedly went down.


"During the course of that meeting, it was brought to my attention that [management] weren't going to pick up the option."

This was a phrase coached by an attorney. Clear buzz-word language that an attorney would suggest he say. He doesn't have to say it was discussed, it was just "brought to his attention."




Liar.

You'll never hear AI talk like that. He keeps it real.

[stevew]

I guess this may be like the epilouge to the story.

Cleveland Cavalier fans were out in force last night to get a piece of Carlos Boozer, who stuck a knife in the Cavs last off season by bolting for the Utah Jazz. Well, the Jazz were in town for their one and only visit of the year and fans wanted a piece of the guy. But they didn’t get it.

Boozer stayed in Salt Lake because of an injured foot. Oh, okay…..

Before the game, Cavs Head Coach Paul Silas was asked about playing against Boozer and he said, "See-U-Next-Tuesday."

I wonder what he means by that. Let me see. If I spell it out, like he asked me to, that would be c-u-n-Tuesday. Whoa. Did Paul Silas really just call Carols Boozer a C-U Next Tuesday? That’s harsh. Real harsh! And he must have wanted to get his point across. He said it twice and when the reporter didn’t get it, he explained it to him. I don’t think that he likes him all that much. I don’t think he has forgiven him for plunging the knife into his back. That is about the most pointed smack you are going to hear a coach run at a player. It doesn’t get much more personal than that. Well done Paul.

Silas got fined 10k for these comments. Funny as hell.

[MikeVic]

Hahahaha. That's awesome.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by stevew

I guess this may be like the epilouge to the story.




Silas got fined 10k for these comments. Funny as hell.

Funny if a player had said it, but what a low class coach.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

Funny if a player had said it, but what a low class coach.

Yeah, well Boozer did a pretty good job of running Silas's name through the mud this offseason too, so its not like its unwarranted.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by stevew

Yeah, well Boozer did a pretty good job of running Silas's name through the mud this offseason too, so its not like its unwarranted.

I'm not saying the Cavs don't have a right to be upset, but you'd usually expect a coach to show a little more poise.

[Pumpy Tudors]

It was improper for Paul Silas to say such a thing. With that said, Paul Silas doesn't take shit from anybody, and he claims that he thought the comment was off the record. Of course, when you say something like that to an interviewer, well, it's funny how it just slips out to the public, isn't it?

I have a feeling that the NBA will just happen to schedule Utah's next visit to Cleveland on a Tuesday, though. If they do it, I'll be in love with the NBA.

[Senator]