Is Carlos Boozer Worth More Than $12 Mil Per Year?
BoozerHe certainly believes so. Carlos Boozer told ESPN.com that he plans on opting out of the $12 million that he’s owed next season no matter what – whether he stays in Utah or bolts for a fresh situation.
“I’m opting out. No matter what, I’m going to get a raise regardless,” Boozer told ESPN.com. “I am going to opt out, I don’t see why I wouldn’t, I think it’s a very good business decision for me and my family, but I’d also like to see what happens with the Jazz and stay here.”
Though this might be the right move for Boozer, this might be the wrong time to say so. With Paul Millsap playing the best basketball of his career, there will undoubtedly be some people in Salt Lake who believe that the bruising backup can fill Booz’s shoes.
Taking a quick look at Utah’s finances, they’d be in a position to make a play for a big-time free agent next year if, and only if both Boozer and Mehmet Okur opted out. (They’d have roughly $15-20 million in cap space.) Or, they could make a play to keep Boozer in a Jazz uni with a pay raise. The truth is, he’ll compare favorably with Zach Randolph as an offensively gifted power forward – who is making just under $15 mil. this season, $16 flat next year, and over $17 mil. the year after.
Source: ESPN.com
December 18th, 2008 at 10:25 am
fallinup says:
Fuck Boozer. How’s that?
Let him go find his raise. The Jazz have Millsap’s fresher legs. They should keep Memo though. You can’t deny a big man that can shoot like him.
December 18th, 2008 at 10:27 am
stephen a says:
HELLLLLLLLLLL NOOOOOOOOOOOO HES THE 2ND BEST PF ON HIS TEAM.PAY MILSAP TRADE BOOZER ASAP
December 18th, 2008 at 10:30 am
rob stewart says:
Milsap and D-Will are the future. Let Boozer go
December 18th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Isaiah says:
Wade, beasely, boozer.
December 18th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Timmy D says:
Boozer has never played a full season. He almost did last year but just missed it. Millsap is the man and wont ask for some crazy contract like Boozer’s lame ass will. Let him go and have some other team like the Heat overpay for him and never win a ring.
December 18th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Kevin K says:
he is overrated. he is able to pull those stats because of the “SYSTEM” that the Jazz has. He played like what 20 seconds in the Olympic Gold medal game? He is not even a top 5 Pf in the league so why is he expecting those money?
December 18th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Jeff says:
BOOZER IS OVERATED HE IS ALWAYS HURT – MILLSAP IS A REAL TALLENT AND DOESNT FRAME HIS OWN JERSEYS, THE BOTTOM LINE IS NO PLAYER IN TODAYS NBA HAS ANY LOYALTY TO THE TEAM OR THE FANS – JUST FOLLOW THE MONEY -
December 18th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Mikey says:
At least the Booze Cruise is being upfront with the Jazz… unlike the way he punked the Cavs back in the day.
December 18th, 2008 at 10:55 am
G says:
You guys are wildin. Weather you like him or not, want the Jazz to go with Milsap instead its all irrelevant. There are a bunch of people in the league making more than 12 that are not nearly as effective as Boozer is. Im tempted to say he’ll get a max deal somewhere but even if not I can see him commanding 15-18 per.
PAY WHAT YOU OWE!
December 18th, 2008 at 10:57 am
JCARR says:
Obviously no. At times his value is on the rise, but most of the time his stock is down. He reminds me of a better drew gooden.
Agree with posts above Millsap is the future stud for the Jazz.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:00 am
control says:
Boozer has no idea about marketing his image. In times w/ these economic problems, going around saying you can’t work for 12 mil/year because you have to take care of your family is just straight retarded. He might/might not be worth more, but you can’t just SAY that shit.
What a bonehead.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Amar says:
is he worth it? I don’t think so, but your worth is, unfortunately, what someone is willing to pay . . . and i think some teams out there are willing to pay that much for him.
he looks great because of the system.
adrian dantley: post up forward, has scoring titles, all-star games, HOF
karl malone: post up forward, 2nd in scoring like 8 years in a row, all-star games, MVPs, gold medals, potential HOF
andrei kirilenko: slashing forward, only season playing PF was his only all-star year
mehmet okur: another PF (who plays 4 when boozer is out usually, ‘cept for this year), was an all-star injury replacement, has had seasons of 17/9 in utah
paul millsap: 2nd round pick who has now had 13 double doubles in a row
none of those guys are worth more than what boozer is getting now, but boozer wants a raise. he’s screwing the jazz, as this off-season the jazz have to also take care of millsap, brewer, and some other players too. (korver and okur can also opt out if they want this off-season)
December 18th, 2008 at 11:13 am
sans says:
Millsap at least “doesn’t frame his own jerseys” lmfao hilarious ish. I don’t think Korver is gonna opt out. His contract was big when he signed, and nobody is gonna give him more than $8Mper.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:15 am
G says:
If you think hes not gonna get more than 12 heres some food for thought:
AK47 – 15 mil
Odom – 14.5
Ben Wallace – 14.5
Bibby – 15.2
Bogut – 10 mil next year, contact ends at 14.2
Im not saying hes worth it. Although I personally would give him something like 12.5 to start but finishing at 16 over 4 years, maybe fron load it if he really is hurting from some bad investments or something. But the bottom line is, look at history, he will get it from someone.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:27 am
M Intellect says:
Who would pay Lamar Odom that much money? LOL
December 18th, 2008 at 11:34 am
DJ Go Go Gomez says:
His numbers say that he’s worth a little more than 12 mil per. But dude just can’t stay healthy. If I’m a GM that would be my reason not to give him that huge contract.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:37 am
P_Dizzle says:
He’s worth about $12 mill and no more. But someone will pay him. He’ll get at least Elton Brand money as much as I hate to say it.
Jazz should let him walk. Millsap is obviously the PF of the future.
Seems to me like Booz is a horrible poker player. By saying this, hasn’t he lost the upper hand?
Since signing with the Jazz Boozer has a 70.7% attendance record and has billed the Jazz $13,934,953.07 in “sick” days.
My ass would be fired if that was me!
December 18th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Kermit the Washington says:
Nothing against Boozer…just an observation of how CRAZY it is when someone makes 12 mil and feels like he’s “worth more” and “needs a raise”. LOL what a world!
December 18th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Dragonyeuw says:
I love people like this,what 12 mil isn’t enough to feed your children?Some people can play basketball for hours and hours everyday and never be good enough to be pro.You got a god-given gift,and in an economy where people are losing jobs and homes left and right,this cunt is complaining about wanting more than 12mil a year.
Even if he’s worth it compared to other players, show some humility at being fortunate enough to get paid millions of dollars to dribble a basketball,while the average person struggles to make $30,000 and pay their rent every month.Deron’s the man on that team anyway,fuck you Boozer
December 18th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Amar (post #12) has it right when he says “worth” is what somebody is willing to pay. I would say 80% of teams would say Boozer is not worth more than 12 mil/yr but there is a handful of teams that would easily pay that or more for his services.
However I believe that the team that overpays for Boozer will end up regretting it. Yeah he bring you around 20-10 a night but so does Zach, so does Brand, so does Bosh so does Al Jefferson, so does Jamison…. 20-10 stat lines do not exactly equate to winning. Don’t get me wrong, 20-10 averages put your team in a better position to win but a franchise should not pay based on stats alone. IMO a player needs intangibles to get max contracts.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Fuck Duke alumni. Just thought I’d throw that in there too.
December 18th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
P_Dizzle says:
I agree with post 19 100%
December 18th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
bigJack says:
trade bosh for boozer
December 18th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
rell says:
In the famous words of John Salley “It’s not about what you are worth, it’s about how much you negotiate.” He is worth atleast 12 million. Boozer is not worth franchise money but he is worth 2nd fiddle money. If the Jazz are not going to resign him this offseason it’s best for them to trade him now and get some draft picks out of the deal. I know this will not happen but if Utah would trade Boozer to Cleveland for Wally and Varego their lineup would be deadly and will probably win the ’ship.
December 18th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
SayItAintSo says:
I do not like Boozer. He is stupid.
December 18th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
DigDug says:
This proves my belief that for the average person, it just doesn’t matter how much money you make. When I was making in the 20,000 to 40,000 range, I managed to get by and had a lil’ bit left over. Now I’m in the 55-70,000 range, and I manage to get by and have a lil’ bit left over.
When you get that raise you want so bad, everything gets “upgraded”. You get a more expensive car, more expensive house/apartment, more expensive clothes, and sometimes even more expensive FOOD, just because you can “afford” it. And then it ends up evening out and you have the same amount left over, sometimes LESS. And most of the time, less time to enjoy all those more expensive things.
So now Boozer’s gotten up in the multi-MILLIONS, and now needs a raise cause he’s upgraded everything to fill up all that extra dough. What’s he gonna do when he gets his raise? LOOK FOR ANOTHER RAISE. It never ends…
Just felt like rambling, sorry…
December 18th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Amar says:
while collectively unlikeable, I wouldn’t go so far as to call any Duke player “stupid”. heck, some are even smart enough to land studio gigs during their playing days (like grant hill).
December 18th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Leech says:
If I were the Jazz, I wouldn’t pay him much more than $12M. Others have pointed out that there are bums in the association making more than $12M, but many of these players were overpaid (or had a drastic decline in production after they signed their contract).
But it only takes on optimistic GM to land a contract exceeding your market value. Even if he can get a million more per year from another franchise, he should do it. You have to try to get as much as you can get. A million is still a million, and there’s no way I would turn down that much to move to another city and play with different teammates. Loyalty to a franchise ain’t worth that much.
December 18th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
@DigDug
You’re spot on. Living beyond your means and always wanting more, more, more, better, better, better is the not only the American way but is the Human way. We are currently seeing this is in entire industries (i.e. financial and auto) and we see this is individuals as well (i.e. Boozer and Spreewell). Unfortunately it’s this greed that makes the U.S. great and terrible. As Tony Soprano would say, “What can you do.”
December 18th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
TJ says:
I hate Booz (I’m a huge Cavs fan), but you all need to chill with the criticism in this case. First off, he never said shit about not being able to feed his kids, he just said he had to make a business decision. Second, all the people saying he shouldn’t get the max someone will give him are full of shit. No one accepts a job offer with a salary of X dollars and said “I’ll take the job, but how about we make my salary smaller.” Everyone wants to make a wage that corresponds to your value, be it $50,000 or $50 million.
December 18th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
karizmatic says:
I don’t think Boozer is worth it, but the market will probably dictate that he gets that salary.
December 18th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
control says:
I wonder if he signs his contracts with “Angry Skull Guy”?
December 18th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Kobeef says:
The Jazz should trade Boozer now before they lose him for nothing.
They should not give him a raise. Sure he puts up numbers in the regular season but he is invisible in the playoffs.
Memo could replace Boozer’s stats and add a shooting touch.
December 18th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Dennis Castro says:
I think about it like this. As bad as it is, $12M for a player like Boozer isn’t outrageous.
To put it in perspective, Sam Dalembert I think it getting close to $11M this year. So if it came down to it, $12M for a player of Boozer’s caliber isn’t that overblown.
That being said, I have a strong feeling that Deron Williams aided Booz’s numbers significantly with the way he runs that team, along with Sloan’s system.
I’d be interested to see what Boozer’s numbers look like without Williams as his PG.
My point being, Booz comes off as a complete prick on this.
December 18th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
JoeCozi says:
SHIT BEEN THRU UTAH AINT NOTHING BUT WHITE PEOPLE OUT THERE…AHHH WHAT HE’S REALLY SAYING IS UTAH KISS MY ASS AND SHOVE THAT 12 MILL CAUSE YOU CAN’T PAY ME ENOUGH TO LIVE HERE NO MATTER HOW LIGHT SKINNED I AM THEY KNOW I’M NOT WHITE…
December 18th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
No one accepts a job offer with a salary of X dollars and said “I’ll take the job, but how about we make my salary smaller.” -TJ (post #30)
@TJ
True. But you also need to come with some leverage when negotiating a contract increase. Nobody walks into a job interview and says, “You will pay me more than I was making at my previous employer and in turn I will maybe miss somewhere between 10-80% of my work days but you will still pay me for those days. Also, my production will be limited to my motivation for that day.”
December 18th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
I think the majority of us agree 12 mil/yr is fair but anymore than that is not good business. What does Booz do besides put up 20-10 stats. He’s lackadaisical on D, he’s never been mentioned as a clutch performer, and with very talented Utah teams they still couldn’t make it to the Finals.
Granted this may all change if he is on a good squad in the East but if Miami opens the bank for Boozer there still no guarantee that Wade stays with the Heat. I don’t think Boozer is the type of player that causes Wade to remain with Miami purely based on the fact he’s there.
December 18th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Also I happen to believe that Beasley can do all that Booz can do and more. And guess what? He’s cheaper. Miami would be better off trying to get a true center and holding out for 2010 when they may be able to re-sign Wade and open the books for Bosh.
Hey, patience is a virtue. At least that’s what the Knicks are betting on.
December 18th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Ian says:
hes overrated ok but can we play stop sayin oh hes just a product of the system that is bs. every player is
December 18th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
dennis says:
at a time when the country is falling apart this guy thinks only of himself .a real character guy here.
December 18th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Kyle says:
I think he just doesn’t want to live in Utah. It’s as simple as that.
December 18th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
AY says:
didn’t he already gave himself a raise? he missed 30% of the games as a jazz so far, so he’s making about 17mil per 82-game year based on the return on the jazz’s investment. Someone will pay him more than 12 mil to miss 30% of games, but he will forever be one of these guys that work for the dollars on the check instead of the team on his chest. I wouldn’t want that guy as one of the top representatives for a 300 million dollar franchise.
December 18th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Ric Hardwood says:
He’s a very good PF and is probably worth $12 mil considering what everyone else is making, but shouldn’t you improve before you get a raise? He’s still pretty much the same player as when he signed the old contract. Maybe worse considering his injury background.
December 18th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
jk says:
has no one learned from the spurs regarding salary? don’t max your salary so the team can put other pieces around you to win the championship! otherwise you’ll end up like the garnett timerwolves. i thought the goal was to win a championship, not just to get paid.
boozer is a backstabbing punk anyways – and i suppose he also thinks he deserved that gold medal with all that tick he played…
i reckon the best thing utah can do is say thanks for your time – the door is that way.
December 18th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Dragonyeuw says:
My thing is, I would want my legacy to be defined by winning. When looking at the greatest players ever,what gets you in the HOF is championships,being on winning teams,etc. No-one’s gonna remember who was the highest paid player.Guess with him,it’s a livelihood,not a passion. Shit,if my ass was getting paid 12 million to play a damn sport,I’d be on my knees thanking the lord every damn day.
What he is saying is,he’ll go where the money is,even if it’s the Clippers. He has a good situation in Utah,with a winning team when healthy,and the only thing he’s concerned about is raising his salary from a ‘paltry’ 12 million. I agree to be paid what you are worth, but in these economic times,crying because you want more than 12 million a year isn’t going to inspire much sympathy.
As far as his worth as an NBA player,yeah he’s a 20/10 guy but so is Zach Randolph and ELton Brand. Is Boozer really any better than guys like that? Let’s not forget he basically disappeared in the playoffs last year.Show us you can lead a team when the stakes are highest,then talk about a raise.Till then,fuck off.Deron’s the best player on that team and your ass can easily be replaced by Millsap.Ohh, and don’t know if anyone else noticed,but he was the clear cut 12th man on the Olympic team,and his own damn college coach was running things.You ain’t as good as you think you are,Booz.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
tim says:
bring him to Detroit….
December 18th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
tim says:
Stuckey
Hamilton
Prince
Boozer
Whatever center they can find.
oh btw…who was saying Stuckey was a mediocore guard at best? Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm….16 points per with 10 assists a game is definitely not mediocore, more like CP3 Deron Williams level…Stuck will be a BEAST in the playofs and in the years to come…he’s a stronger Dwayne Wade.
December 20th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
DW2RB says:
Except that he said in his statements that he is willing to re-sign with Utah. Duh.
(Response to <>)
December 21st, 2008 at 4:04 pm
BROGDEN says:
Boozer showed his cards too fast. “Intent” is the one entity a contract cannot, by face value, fathom. Since he let his intentions be known before signing a contract, he projected to his prospective suitors in the FA period that he too, is also blatantly shopping his services around for a cap-killing salary. With that said, he might not have damaged his leverage with the other teams come when the free agency period begins, a team def could use him, and will. But if he truly wanted to stay with Utah and work out something, being they are a legitimate contender with only 1 or 2 roster spots needing improved play, then he definitely has an adverse bargaining position now. The presence of Millsap and a slew of developing Boozer types are out there Curry, Vareajo. Granger and Maxiell are restricted. Powe and Villanueva. Big Baby even. And more. This aforementioned talent may gain some valuable court experience in the time up until FA signing and this will also substantialkt mediate his earning potential.
December 22nd, 2008 at 6:23 pm
greg says:
Carlos Boozer needs proactive. He’s a ridiculous liability, Yes he does well when he is healthy, but only in the regular season. Come post season he’s trash. Let him go.