Boozer must be traded. IMO

[Shocker00]

In my opinion. Here are the reasons the Jazz should trade Boozer.
1. He has missed a 129 Games out of 380 on his current contract. On the average that is more than one game missed out of every 3 games played.
2. If Boozer decides not to opt out then the Jazz is stuck with a player that has a history of only playing 62% of every game played. With that type of inconsistency I dont see how the Jazz could compete for a championship.
3. The Jazz could get something in return now but if you wait he might just opt out and the Jazz get nothing in return. (He already said he was going to opt out)
4. The jazz are going to have huge salary cap problems next year if Boozer opts out and the Jazz resign him(I think this is unlikely).
5. Boozer is undersized and has trouble against taller teams like the Lakers.
6. Boozer is a terrible defensive player along with Okur and that doesnt bold well for the frontcourt.

Now with that said Boozer is a very good offensive player and rebounder. The problem is that against the taller teams he struggles and is very inconsistant. The other problem is if you give up just as much on the defensive side of the ball as you get on the offensive side. The problem is who can we get in return? I have some players in mind that I would like to see.

Chris Bosh (I think this could be good but we have to give up more than Boozer)
Tyson Chandler (Very good defensive player. I think he would fit in well with the Jazz)
Amare Stoudamire (Good offensive player and shot blocker but plays poor defense. I think he has better potential to play good defense than Boozer does)

[carrottop12]

I would only trade Boozer right now if the Jazz could get Bosh, Amare or some other all-star level caliber PF back. I would also probably trade him for an assortment of the right pieces i.e. Rip Hamiltion and Jason Maxiell or Amir Johnson or something like that.

[babyjax13]

I honestly would like to see LaMarcus Aldridge in a Jazz uniform. I might be the only one, but I see him as being a great fit on our team (especially next to a guy like Deron).

[J_Ray]

I would only trade Boozer right now if the Jazz could get Bosh, Amare or some other all-star level caliber PF back. I would also probably trade him for an assortment of the right pieces i.e. Rip Hamiltion and Jason Maxiell or Amir Johnson or something like that.

I wouldn't mind if Utah traded him for someone like Biedrins or Kaman and let Okur play PF to get more of a height advantage more often.

[jazzfan1971]

I would only trade Boozer right now if the Jazz could get Bosh, Amare or some other all-star level caliber PF back. I would also probably trade him for an assortment of the right pieces i.e. Rip Hamiltion and Jason Maxiell or Amir Johnson or something like that.

I wouldn't mind if Utah traded him for someone like Biedrins or Kaman and let Okur play PF to get more of a height advantage more often.

My position as well. Although if we could upgrade to an Amare I'd be for that as well.

[majortripps69]

The odds of trading Boozer right now for anything worthwhile is probably not going to happen. Other teams have the same fears with his history of injuries the same as we do. There were reports out of Miami that they are looking other directions as well because of his injury history. Honestly, unless a miracle occurs, Boozer will be back next weekend and will finish out the year. Depending on how he finishes out the year will show if he is going to opt out or stay for one more season. If he stays, kiss Okur or Millsap goodbye.

[russ1]

I believe we must trade boozer simply due to the fact that he's anything but durable. As much as I can't stand boozer, we are not a threat without him. If we trade him, we need someone with similar offensive abilities, and who is a factor defensively. This offense is mainly predicated on the abilities of the point guard and power foward. Locke has stated repeatedly how the jazz can not run their usual plays at the end of games because they don't have boozer. If we happen to trade boozer (which I hope, but doubt will happen), it needs to be for a big who can effectively execute the jazz' offensive plays. I think either bosh or stoudamire would work, but I feel of the two Bosh would be the best fit.

[hoops4life]

I am really up and ready for most trades. I don't think this team can make it as is and needs a mix up.

[jozef]

Boozer can play against tall players but he needs athletic big man to help him and at least one wing with 3pt range to spread the defense. Boozer has best post moves in the league and is by far the best fit at PF for Jazz system.

[drivewayball]

Boozer for Kaman works salary-wise and fills Clippers need for an expiring contract and Jazz need for a big, tough center. Kaman averages more steals and blocks than Chandler, and also more assists and rebounds. Much better free throw shooter too. Okur moves to center.

[Lava Rock Kid]

To trade boozer would be stupid. Why not give this post season a chance. This team is horrible without him. The only reason I would trade boozer is for a player of equal or better abilities. Even equal abilities would not make sense, since the year is halfway through and the new incomming player would take a while to gel with the team.
I think O'conners decision is to ride out the year and see what this team can do in the playoffs, then make the decisions this summer. Boozer may not even opt out.

All these stupid trade ideas that make us a worse team since boozer is leaving is stupid. Why not just field the best team this year for the playoffs. I would not throw in the towel just yet.

[erudite23]

Congratulations! You just summed out the last 6 months worth of anti Boozer rants in one thread!




Listen, we've heard it all before. This topic has been discussed ad-naseum. Hashed. Rehashed. Rerehashed. Its gotten tiresome. Booz won't be traded. No matter how much any of us want him to.

On the other hand, the naysayers who claimed that he wasn't even that important to the team and that he was the most easily replaceable peice of our puzzle have been proved wrong with resounding authority. With the lone possible exception of Amare (and that's just a possible exception), Boozer is the best fit offensively for our system in the league. His abilities to mix in an inside/outside game along with also getting to and finishing at the basket on pick and roll plays makes him basically unstoppable. Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Pau Gasol, Al Jefferson, KG, TD...none of those players would be a better fit on offense for us than Carlos Boozer. That's what you call upside.

Now the alternative, which is to let him go, and bring Millsap along, right? Well, I think its been made very clear that he is not the answer to our offensive issues. He's a very good player in his own right. But it doesn't appear that he will ever be able to command the type of defensive attention that is required to open up the floor for everyone else. So now the Jazz are looking at changing their system and approach to accomodate his deficiencies. The only way we can do that is by finding a big center that brings the things to the table that Paul lacks, or to switch to a more guard-centric offense. In either one of those scenarios, we have serious issues. First of all, you don't just find high quality centers lying around. Good luck finding that guy. We could spend the next 10 years looking and never get him. If we change our system to a more outside-in approach, its still difficult. We have a PG that can handle his part of it, but can Brewer step up and be a Manu Ginobili, Paul Pierce or Sean Elliot type of scorer/penetrator/creator? I haven't seen enough to justify that thought.


There are going to be issues. If we keep Boozer and build around a Deron/Booz core, we may have to settle for 50-55 wins a season with a 2nd round exit. That is a reality. If we trade Boozer and shift gears, we could easily fall down a tier into the 45-50 wins a year with an annual 1st round exit territory. If we keep Boozer, we likely have to wave goodbye to at least one of the Millsap/Okur/Kirilenko group. That's just simple arithmetic.

But who is going to be easier to replace? Boozer's elite scoring abilities that are the cornerstone of our offense? Or the complementary shooting of Okur/rebounding and hustle of Millsap/diversity of AK? To me, its pretty simple. Basketball is about getting elite players and building around them with complementary peices. Too often, the players that are better than "solid" but not quite "excellent" are the players that earn you mediocrity. Jamison in Washington, Deng/Hinrich/Gordon in Chicago, Walker in his old Celtic days, the Wallace/Pippen/Grant Blazers among many others...they all are just good enough to tie up your salary cap space and look deserving on paper, but not quite the players that will ever earn you anyting meaningful. Millsap and Okur are these types of players. Let them go. We can find players who give us 80% of what they give us for 40 or 50% of the cost. All while we have two top 15 players leading the charge for us.

What we really need to do is allow Kosta to develop, get a cheap 3rd big guy to replace Millsap off the bench, use our 2010 pick wisely, and build around Deron/Boozer/AK for the next 2 years. Once AKs salary comes off the books, we can re-sign him to a more reasonable contract. In the meantime, we must simple keep acquiring good young players in the draft and signing quality vets to reasonable contracts. When you are the Utah Jazz, and you have our limitations financially, this is your best hope. It may not produce a championship, sadly, but its our only alternative. We are not going to find a better player than Boozer. Its just too unlikely. So you keep him. Warts and all. You find other players to cover up for his weaknesses, and you tinker with your system to maximize his strengths. Get a defensive minded big guy that can stop penetration. Find a sweet shooting wing that doesn't dribble the ball off his foot (hello Kyle!) twice a game to space the floor (think Roger Mason or Raja Bell) and call it good. We are too attached to some of our guys through sentiment. We can't afford that luxury. Boozer and DWill is an offensive foundation that few can match. Build on that.

This summer could be a lot like the Mavericks of 04 (iirc). They had a young exciting core of players that had a lot of success together, that won games and was exciting. Nash came up for FA, and got an offer that was just too much for what he was conrtibuting. Finley was a good player, but starting to decline and the new Amnesty Rule allowed the Mavs to clear him off the books without paying any tax. They did so. Two of their big 3 left. It seemed like they were headed for a serious slide in performance. What happened? They got better. They committed to getting more defense from their players, they took a less-is-more approach offensively. Made the game more tailored to Nowitzki's skills. Got some role players who were good but didn't have the name value and recognition in Terry and Dampier. Drafted a nice young player to help on the wing in Josh Howard. Got Stackhouse to accept a complementary role. Drafted Devin Harris with a pick acquired from Washington. They were probably the single best regular season team for over the next 3 years.

We can do the same. We just need to be smart and not waste our assets. Getting rid of Boozer, though, will kill what we do best. I say trim the fat and build around your biggest strength. Right now, that is Deron running the point and getting people involved and Carlos scoring off the p'n'r. No reason to **** it up just because of legions of irrational fans that want to taste vengeance.

/rant

[Jig-Saw Puzzle]

Keeping Boozer and losing one or two or all three of Millsap/Okur/Kirilenko would be the beginning of the end for the Jazz. Boozer is stats man. A man who has to be % 110 healthy so can he can get his stats. He would never sacrifice for the good of the team. Okur, Williams, Millsap and Kirlenko all have played when they have been hurt, Boozer no way. He cares about himself and nothing else, don't be fooled into thinking he is a commodity or something, the Jazz would have done just well without him if all the other players were healthy. They are not doing too bad as it is with all of the other injuries.