Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf opposes the idea of using the amnesty provision to remove Carlos Boozer from the team’s books, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears, adding that sources tell him that Chicago will make a strong push to trade Boozer instead. Boozer is set to enter the final year of his contract next season, but his $16.8MM salary and his growing anger at coach Tom Thibodeau seem to make him a poor fit for the Bulls, who have their eyes set on a free agent prize this summer.
The Knicks are “undeniably nervous” about the chances that Carmelo Anthony will sign with the team this summer, Stein writes. The ESPN.com scribe echoes last week’s report from Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that put the Bulls at the front of the list of Anthony’s preferred suitors. Chicago would have to move a significant amount of salary off its payroll to make a competitive offer to Anthony, since the Bulls’ commitments for 2014/15 already exceed even the new, higher salary cap projection for next season. Amnestying Boozer would be the simplest way to wipe a hefty chunk of money off Chicago’s cap figure, but unless a team claims him off waivers, Reinsdorf would still have to pay Boozer his salary, even though it wouldn’t count toward the cap. That’s why Deveney says there’s never been a question that the Bulls would prefer to trade Boozer (Twitter link).
The amnesty period runs through July 16th, giving the Bulls ample time to find a trade partner before the option of circling back and amnestying Boozer anyway disappears. Still, it will probably be difficult to find a team willing to make a trade that would give Chicago cap flexibility in return for a 32-year-old Boozer who rarely played in the fourth quarter this season, particularly given his inflated salary. He may have some value as an expiring contract, but any team that acquires him via trade would be unable to amnesty him. A sign-and-trade with the Knicks involving ‘Melo is one possibility, but Knicks president Phil Jackson might be reluctant to play along and accommodate Chicago’s poaching of New York’s star.
If the Bulls do amnesty Boozer, Stein suggests there’s a chance that agent Rob Pelinka, the rep for Boozer as well as Kobe Bryant, will encourage the Lakers to submit an amnesty waiver claim. That would almost certainly be a partial waiver claim if it were to happen, meaning the Lakers would pay a portion of Boozer’s salary while Reinsdorf would be on the hook for the rest. Stein points to Chicago’s likely pursuit of Pau Gasol this summer, and perhaps there’s a sign-and-trade possibility to be had involving Gasol and Boozer, though that’s just my speculation.
Who wants a power forward who can’t score in the paint and his only defense is shoving someone? Hopefully this is goodbye to Boozer. I drank the koolade for 2 seasons and then I saw your true self. How can you take so much money and give so little in return? Boozer is not the answer, Noah is not the answer either. We need scores. Noah is not a playmaker, so stop that nonsense now. He is a turnover machine during the playoffs. Find playmaking guards and forwards instead, not an offensively challenged center who can score with the shot clock running down. He has never carried this team to any round beyond the 2nd in 7 years. Most playoffs, Noah is a non factor. No more excuses please. Horrible draft decisions T. Thomas/ L. Aldridge, James Johnson, the kid drafted second last summer behind Snell, all wasted picks. People draft behind the Bulls and find stars, so it is the talent evaluators and management as well that needs fresh eyes.
We found Taj at 26, we found Butler at 30, Noah was 9th (just won DPOY). I will give you the T Thomas/L Aldridge, but who was better in the second round last year that we should’ve drafted instead of Erik Murphy? Also, I recall lots of people saying to grab Michael Beasley instead of Derrick Rose. Even though he has been injured for two years, he has been the far better player, already winning an MVP.
Jimmy Butler isn’t some huge success he is a just another defensive grinder who can’t shoot. Taj while they hit on him that was like 6-7 years ago… They have been unable to address the basic need fixing the offense despite trying to do it the last 3 straight offseasons. The result was the worst scoring offense in the league! Great job guys! How long can they coast on Taj Gibsons success he is about to turn 30 and as a highly athletic player he is soon to hit his declining phase of his career and has not even become a full time starter yet. Gar and Pax are highly overrated and have been living off the briliance of Thibs. Meanwhile Gar gets all huffy and fires his top assistant because he can’t handle being second guessed on his draft choices.
Oh, I won’t deny they’ve had bad years…but they’ve also had good ones. Jimmy Butler is not great offensively, but he is a defensive stalwart, and to find him at the last spot in the first round is a huge success in that draft. We have been drafting really late due to the success of the team, and because of that, we haven’t had a chance to find the best players. Name a few players that have been drafted later than we drafted that are doing extremely well in the past 3 seasons? I agree Gar and Pax have poor judgement, but they’ve also made good decisions too. You won’t find a GM or Pres that has only made great decisions.
i agree I hear the same argument rose perfect fit ill agree wit Thomas over Aldridge…hey john seems upset..lol
Go fuck yourself john Conley. You clearly don’t watch basketball enough to know that defense is the most important part of a team and we have the best defense in the league. Do we need an elite scorer? Yes, but Noah is extremely serviceable in a role he was new to this year. I want boozer gone too but don’t go blaming Noah you ignorant fuck
Yeah its not like the team that scores the most wins! Oh wait… they do…
Sorry, John, but you won’t find a center that plays as hard as Noah does. As we’ve seen this series, Noah isn’t the strongest center in the league, but he plays 100% when he’s on the floor. He only carried the team this year because he HAD to. Nobody else, other than an occasional good game by Augustin or Gibson, was able to handle the task. I’m glad we’ve got Noah. Next year could be very interesting, though I still think we’re gonna have to eat Boozer’s salary. He’ll get amnestied, no doubt. After seeing what he’s got left, I don’t see any team in the league willing to take him, even at half his salary. What a waste he is.
don’t be so critical,,,give them credit they made a good run with the roster they had…boozer by far is the worst the only reason he lasted this long was cause rose was hurt and they traded deng…I gave up on boozer b4 tibs did…as for noah he gives u 100% all the time what happened was they got tired out ill blame tibs just a lil he should’ve went to his bench a lil more to give them a break they played hard all year and when u don’t have the offense ur working extra hard of defense and they ran out of gas,,,boozer is a bum… get melo , let rose play in the summer league so he can get all his worries over with by pre season and lets go get this chip
other teams likely to laugh at the idea of taking on that salary
Unless they want the expiring. That contract could actually be an “asset” at the deadline.
Yes but having that salary on the books all summer impacts what they can do to improve the team. Also, smaller expiring contracts did not get a substantial return this past deadline (Philly only got the entire 2nd round)
Do you think we could trade boozer and the top two picks to get a high draft pick or do they not value draft picks that much? I’m more of an NFL guy but I love watching the bulls
Its unlikely they could trade Boozer as his monster contract is a huge negative asset.
It’s not though, because it’s now only 1 year. Teams value expirings.
I could care less what you call me Nick. You are no one and I forget more about hoops than you will ever know. Let’s have this talk next year when the Bulls whom I love dearly are whisked out of the playoffs again. If we had Carmelo, I don’t think we would have fared much better. The team is burned out every year during the playoffs because they overachieve during the regular season and they don’t have anything left in the tank come playoff time. I’ve been a Bulls fan since ’79 so I know what winning teams look like and what mediocre teams look like as well. I’ve been a season ticket holder as well and not the cheap seats either. My point is that I have invested in this team emotionally and financially and I see mediocre players. If Noah is in the West, he is not an All Star. If Noah plays in the 80’s or 90’s he is a role player at best. Joe Barry Carroll is a Hall of Fame compared to Noah…..lol.
Noah is the second best player on this team when Rose is healthy the first when he is not. You are right he can not score but his intangibles put him over the top. How many games do they win this year with out him..? I am not a fan of his but his efficiency ratings and hustle speak for themselves. They are burned out every year in the playoffs because they have no offense. Carmelo on this team puts them in the conference finals. You have a roster full of blue collar players that don’t need shots to stay motivated. This roster is tailor made for Melo. Basically the same type of team that AI had when Larry brown took them to the finals
Also the best rebounder the team has ever had…
Rodman.
Boozer is softer than John Bobbitt. Get him the hell outta here!
The Bulls need 3 scoring threats in order for them to get to the conference finals. They can’t make wide open shots during crunch time. If Rose comes back healthy, they need at least two guys to go with him that score at least 15 ppg and play some form of defense. They keep repackaging the same team and it isn’t working. Their bench is weak, the starting 5 is weak and their offense is weak. Can’t fall in love with players the way the Bulls have in recent years. We need a couple of beasts on offense. We need a Nene. Gotta be one D Leaguer that is a beast and hungry for a chance?
Combining Boozer with some first round pick could be a way for a team in rebuild. Chances of trading him are slim.
Dan, most Bulls drafts since 2006 are out of the league. That is a horrible percentage of failures in the draft. I love Rose and Gibson too. I’m sure my blood droplets are shaped like the Bulls logo….lol
Rodman was a better rebounder, defender and scorer than Noah and he was two inches shorter….lol
I don’t doubt how hard he plays and he does rebound well. What I look at every year is that in the playoffs he simply is not a factor. He is not outstanding in the playoffs when they play the Heat. He can’t score big points during big playoff games when it’s needed. There is no way he should be running the break either…..too many turnovers and the Bulls cannot afford turnovers. He is the best Bulls rebounder in the last 14 years, but I am discouraged that the hope I had following the 2009 playoffs is gone. I think we’ve honestly gone backwards. Since Ben Gordon left, we have not had a consistent scorer, so they gave us Mike Dunleavy as our big free agent signing? We need two more scorers like that who can score consistently. No more excuses next year, we let Nate Robinson get away because no one in Bulls management honestly considered ” What if Derrick Rose gets hurt again? ” Seriously? We need stronger thinking about our teams future. If people think that we can win just because Derrick comes back healthy then we will be having this discussion again. We need a scoring power forward who defends and rebounds, not just shoves people and watch the rebounds drop to the floor, or refuses to step up on the pick. We need a big athletic guard who can score in bunches (10 -15 point in a quarter). We need a big physical low post operator that draws fouls and can make free throws as well. You have to trade someone to get a great player, so who would you trade for Carmelo or a proven star?
Kevin Love for Boozer+Mirotic+Any and all of those 1st rounders the Bulls have. If Minnesota balks, throw in Gibson and take back some scrub to make the money work. If Minnesota thinks they’ll lose Love anyway, the Bulls can give them assets
The problem with MIrotic in any deal is that if he doesn’t like where gets moved, he can flat out not come to the NBA.
I would not pick up Boozer…but he has to get the hell out of Chicago! Just like Ditka said, owners will team up to make sure Chicago does not get a superstar. It is a shame how other teams do not want Chicago to have any chances of a great year., that is where the players heart and passion comes in, because the players know this. I am getting worried though, Bulls better do something because Noah will get a ring and I would hate for him to go to LA or something crazy, he loves the warm weather. That is another thing that shies free agents from signing, the weather. I doubt Melo leaves, Kerr coming in, he is smart…..however, Stephen a Smith made a good point, he does not look like the head coach of a team, could you see him coaching at practice? I think he looks more like a business man.
Maybe I am wrong.
Back to Boozer, oh gosh…I was hoping he would finally do what he was paid to do for once and go out with a bang in Chicago and play his ass off and get us a ring! Wrong, he fouled after foul and costed us many points that third quarter he received 4 fouls in the playoff game. Please just get rid of him.
Bring over Mirotic, and maybe bring Lou back cheap, keep DJ…but we need someone FAST down the stretch (like Rose :). Our guys cannot even steal the ball except for Kirk.
I actually cried last night. SAD
So who you guys predicting????? I am thinking Washington and Clippers in the championship