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http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705269482,00.html

Three years ago, he had what must have been the worst hamstring injury in the history of humans. Each week Boozer would say how close he was to returning, and yet the date just kept getting pushed further and further back until the season was lost. Why do I feel an odd sense of deja vu?

I'm ready to move him. I've defended him in the past, but he doesn't seem to have dedication to anyone or anything other than himself. He's still a very valuable commodity, and its time to cash that particular chip in. My first choice would be to work a deal with PHX for Amare (obviously other pieces would need to be included), and after that, guys like Okafor, Bogut, and Aldridge should be looked at. I'd even consider moving him to New York for Lee, an expiring contract, and a pick.

I am not sure but his brows sure looked purtty last night.

Maybe he's just a slow healer? All I know, is that he played basically every game the last couple of seasons and that Quad injury he had this season looked a lot worse than just a strain..

I've always been of the opinion that Boozer milked the hamstring injury and I've found several other reasons over the last four years to doubt and/or criticize him. However, why the hell would he milk an injury right now? He's playing for a contender and, more importantly, as far as he's concerned, he's in a contract year. I see no reason for him to spend any more time in street clothes than he absolutely has to. Let's get serious.

d-will8 wrote:He's playing for a contender and, more importantly, as far as he's concerned, he's in a contract year. I see no reason for him to spend any more time in street clothes than he absolutely has to. Let's get serious.

Bingo... If he wasn't hurt, he'd be playing. Plain and simple. No player in their right mind wants to not play in a contract year. That is money for them, and it's not like he was stinking it up, he was 1 of the few 20/10 guys before the injury and will be once again after the injury. Cut the guy some slack, given the way his knee went, it's lucky he didn't tear something. And quit harping on past injuries, he's been on the court a good deal the last two years (1 game missed last year and 8 the year before for a stress fracture).

Actually, I think the contract year might have something to do with milking the injury. Boozer has reached MAX contract level, and sittingout another week or two won't do anything to change that. He can't play for a better contract, because he's already going to get the best contract available. So rather than tough it out, he can just sit on the bench in his $5K suits and come back when he's good and ready and not a minute before.

I disagree. The longer a player sits out due to injury, the more likely clubs are willing to look elsewhere or drop the amount they are willing to spend. It's happened before. Nobody wants to drop max money on an injury prone player. So is he milking it? I say no.

I look forward to his return, but, I want him back at 100%. I think Deron came back TOO soon.

jazzfan1971 wrote:I look forward to his return, but, I want him back at 100%. I think Deron came back TOO soon.

+1, boozer came back too early from his hamstring and re-injured it. Milking it when you are a contract year (essentially), is idiotic. Thats like being up for a promotion at work and purposefully missing work for a month.

I still say he needs to grow a sack...

Milking an injury early in the season in a contract year, especially for a minor injury, will have zero effect on Boozer's next contract, and he knows it. Boozer knows someone is going to throw max money at him, so he has zero financial incentive to get back out on the court and help his teammates win games. Boozer is all about himself, not the Jazz, not his teammates, and not winning.

Why do you think Millsap is playing so hard right now? He's had his share of bangs and bruises this year too, but he doesn't miss a game. Its because he does have a financial incentive. He's not a max player, so the better he plays, the more he can get paid.

Spot on JDub, I think that is EXACTLY what is going on here. He is getting paid a lot of money to sit on the bench, and he will get paid even more money at the end of the year. It's really too bad, I wonder how hard he would work if he was in Sap's shoes...

JDubJazz wrote:Actually, I think the contract year might have something to do with milking the injury. Boozer has reached MAX contract level

The max for Boozer from Utah would be $131M over 6 years, or $21.83M/yr. Do you really think Utah's prepared to offer that right now?

If Gilbert A. can get a max deal after missing all the time he has then Boozer can too.

Buckeye-NBAFan wrote:

JDubJazz wrote:Actually, I think the contract year might have something to do with milking the injury. Boozer has reached MAX contract level

The max for Boozer from Utah would be $131M over 6 years, or $21.83M/yr. Do you really think Utah's prepared to offer that right now?

If Utah isn't, then someone else will.

Did Williams milk his injury? He did missed 13 games with just an sprained ankle (boozer has missed 12 with a strained quad). What do you guys think? Because to me these sound like similar situations, only difference is that with boozer, people immediately question his "toughness" and desire. Quad injuries typically take 2-6 weeks to heal depending on the severity and assuming no setbacks. Right now boozer has been out 3 weeks.

GP, don't act like a fool. Just go back and look at Boozer's games played in each of the years he has been in Utah. It isn't pretty. Now go look at Deron's. There is your answer. Boozer is soft. If he wasn't soft, he would probably be the best PF in the league. He has that potential, yet he seems perfectly satisfied to spend a LOT of games each season in street clothes. It's very sad really.

the current salary cap and maximum salary system does not give incentive to boozer to play harder.
most people think he will entertain a max (or very near max) salary this offseason no matter how many games he misses.
if he was playing hard every game, playing some!! defense, dropping 25-15 every game, he would probably get a very similar salary.
everyone say the same: he has the potential, he can play defense if he wants to, he can play hard. but he does not.

come june, either jazz or someone else will offer him a max contract (or very near to that) and people will complain if thats not jazz

now why would he play hard?

JDubJazz wrote:Milking an injury early in the season in a contract year, especially for a minor injury, will have zero effect on Boozer's next contract, and he knows it. Boozer knows someone is going to throw max money at him, so he has zero financial incentive to get back out on the court and help his teammates win games. Boozer is all about himself, not the Jazz, not his teammates, and not winning.

Why do you think Millsap is playing so hard right now? He's had his share of bangs and bruises this year too, but he doesn't miss a game. Its because he does have a financial incentive. He's not a max player, so the better he plays, the more he can get paid.

+1
sorry my previous was a repeat

HammerDunk wrote:GP, don't act like a fool. Just go back and look at Boozer's games played in each of the years he has been in Utah. It isn't pretty. Now go look at Deron's. There is your answer. Boozer is soft. If he wasn't soft, he would probably be the best PF in the league. He has that potential, yet he seems perfectly satisfied to spend a LOT of games each season in street clothes. It's very sad really.

Go back and look at your face. It isn't pretty. Now go back and look again. It's really, really ugly.

Now go back and look at your face with a can of gasoline, and light you face on fire. It's ugly, but you should shoot yourself with a grenade launcher. KaBooM!!! Thanks for playin' ****.