10:33pm: The Bulls told Boozer it’s a possibility he will be amnestied or used in a sign-and-trade but have made no final decisions, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
10:00pm: Carlos Boozer may have played his last game in a Bulls uniform. A source tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that Boozer’s departure is a “done deal” and says that the forward’s camp has been informed of the decision.
Under the amnesty provision, Boozer still will be paid the $16.8MM he’s due next season, but it won’t count against the salary cap. The Bulls, of course, would have preferred to use Boozer’s expiring contract in a sign-and-trade scenario but they haven’t found any suitable offers. The Bulls obviously don’t want to pay Boozer for nothing, but they want to reallocate that space for something better, even if it’s not Carmelo Anthony.
As we learned last night, even if they’re able to convince Melo to come to Chicago, the Knicks have zero interest in taking on Boozer in an S&T deal. Even though others in the Knicks’ front office were warmer to the idea since Boozer’s contract could be used in a mid-season deal for someone like Kevin Love, Phil Jackson didn’t want to entertain the idea.
Of course, nothing has officially happened with Boozer just yet. The amnesty window runs from July 10th through the 16th.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
If this is true then YES!!! I’ll miss the yelling during games because that was always entertaining but he needs to go. Another city’s turn to get on the Booze Cruise!
So you lose double doubles, Yes he played no Defense but so did almost everyone except Butler, Noah, Gibson.
Boozer is redundant with Taj Gibson around. Taj is a clearly better basketball player than Boozer and costs less money per year. The one advantage Boozer used to have over Taj is low post scoring and Taj’s low post game really evolved last year. I agree the Bulls need to replace the production but opening up some cap space should allow them to do so.
I’m skeptical if this is true since I don’t see Reinsdorf agreeing to the amnesty unless the Bulls really think they can land a big fish.
I can’t see them amnestying Boozer for anyone less than Melo, LBJ, Bosh, and possibly Stephenson and maybe if there’s no match on Parsons/Monroe. Doesn’t make any sense. Keep him, and someone will have interest around the trade deadline.
The guy has been and IAAM (It’s All About Me) since he stiffed the Cavs.
Never won anything. Never will.
Why anyone thinks that Carmelo Anthony – possibly the top IAAM in the NBA today – will get the Bulls over the championship hump, is beyond me.
I wouldnt necessarily call Melo an IAAM guy. I would call Kobe, Kyrie Irving, and maybe a couple of others IAAM guys though
Trade Boozer & a 1st round pick to the Sixers for a 2nd round pick. They can absorb the entire contract.