[DelakesaParticipant]

Watching highlights of Boozer in the past few years, it’s amazing how little attention he gets for his offensive abilities. Boozer has to be one of the most skilled and fluid big men to ever play.

That being said, if he had stayed in Cleveland, would he and Lebron have been able to win a championship? Their supporting cast was none too great at the time Lebron was drafted with Ilgauskas as the 3rd leading scorer followed by a bunch of players whose careers didn’t really pan out.

The seasons post 2003 draft still had a solid Eastern Conference with Pistons fresh off a championship, Indiana when Jermaine was still healthy, Iverson still playing at a high level, and the Carter-Kidd-Jefferson Nets. Then Shaq would come to form his own duo with Wade, the C’s get their Big 3, and Orlando emerges.

Cavs get a shot in 2007 against the Spurs and then flash forward to 2009, where the Cavs get eliminated by the Magic in the Conference Finals. I don’t think the Magic would’ve stood a chance, and we would’ve seen a Kobe-Lebron NBA Finals.

[TyroberParticipant]

 Obviously they would have had a better team with Boozer, but it’s really impossible to say if he would have helped them win a championship. 

[Ahkasi ClayParticipant]

 i cant tell you how excited i was to get rid of him, as a Jazz fan!

[SiggyParticipant]

 Boozer is an empty stats guy. His actual positive impact on the game is minimal.

[HaleParticipant]

100% this.

[JoeWolf1]

 I’m a Bulls fan and have viewed the Boozer signing with an open mind.

What he does do is give his team a legit 2nd or 3rd scoring option both on the pick and pop and on post isolation and a guy who does what he’s supposed to do on the glass.  He’s not a great rebounder, but he’s in position, strong and gets his 8-10 per game.  He really is a pretty smart ball player, his footspeed is what gets him in trouble.

What he doesn’t do is turn a franchise around, nor provide a consistant option on offense.  Most of my frustration with Boozer is his inconsistancy.  I think this is his aging coming in, but he’ll go 8-9 one night and 1-10 the next.  He’s no longer a guy who can be relied on to get 20 a night.  

Where he gets thrown under the bus.  Boozer isn’t a great defender, but he’s proven to be good enough to play in a team defensive system, like Chicago.  Noah, Gibson and Asik were awesome from the helpside and Boozer’s failures were not due to a lack of effort.  He plays with fire, but his foot speed is just slow by NBA standards. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not that good, but he’s not one of the worst at his position, which seems to be a sentiment commonly shared throughout the NBA fan community.

[SiggyParticipant]

 I disagree that he’s a #2 scoring option simply because he cannot create his own offense.  He has to be set up by his teammates.  He is a finisher, not a creator, but he even struggles sometimes to finish because of his lack of athleticism (like finishing over the top of taller defenders).  Also, that slow foot speed that you speak of translates to the offensive end as well which is why he was never a great back to the basket player despite his fundamental footwork and strength.  For some reason he still has the reputation of being a good post player though.

[CodySLCParticipant]

Injury prone and doesnt play defence. But i think he would have helped.

[Chilbert arenasParticipant]

 If he had stayed it might have prevented the Cavs from giving Larry Hughes so much money which would have helped.

[McDunkin]

The rogaine endorsements would be crazy.

[fcb206Participant]

nice post scorer, but whomever voted for him to make the all defensive team needs to have their ballot revoked. He was probably the Bull’s worst front court defender that got regular minutes. Gibson, asik and Deng were what made that unit tough inside.

[tiberiusParticipant]

 I wrote a 3 paragraph essay on why not but chose to delete everything because I’m tired an don’t want to explain myself. The answer is no. Take my word for it

[BenchWarmerParticipant]

Boozer certainly would have been an upgrade over drew gooden, His game compliments Lebrons. I dont like “what ifs” but a more dynasty defining if is IF the cavs hadn’t drafted Luke Jackson at 10 in 2004.. I believe josh smith and al jefferson among others were available..

[mercyman25Participant]

I say no. Not positive, but if Boozer had stayed in Cleveland would Lebron even had been their pick? They might have been just good enough with Boozer to miss out on Lebron in the draft.

[andyV17Participant]

Boozer played with Lebron in Lebron’s rookie year Boozer was a rookie in 02 and the cavs were plenty shitty to get Lebron 

[Jlv2012]

with Dwade & Bosh in a shortened season.

[NCarmean18Participant]

 I honestly feel bad for Carlos Boozer.  He gets a lot of hate on this site.  He in no way is a ‘bad’ NBA player.  His inconsistancy is the reason that people don’t respect him as much as he should be.  

Now, I know Boozer isn’t a franchise player by any means, but he is still a pretty solid player in the NBA.  He’s a little undersized, he plays below the rim, he is slow, he’s inconsistant, and he isn’t athletic, and that is exactly why he gets all of the grief he does.  That, and the fact that the Chicago Bulls payed him to be a superstar player next to Derrick Rose, whenever he is realistically just a good player.  No more, no less.  

One night, Boozer will be hot.  He will be dropping every mid-range shot he takes, and will be hitting the glass like a beast.  He’ll shoot around 60-70% and grab 15 rebounds.  The next night, he will play terrible.  He will miss everything he takes, and he will get shut out from grabbing boards.  Those nights, he will shoot about 30% or less, and grab only about 4 rebounds.  These kind of nights are the most frustrating for Chicago Bulls fans. 

I live in Illinois, and I have to say that I like Carlos Boozer.  Do I think he is worth the money that the Bulls payed him?  Hell no.  About $6-7 million a year as opposed to $15 a year.  That’d be more beneficial for the Bulls.  That’d give them the luxury of being able to re-sign Taj Gibson at a high contract and still have Boozer on their roster moving forward for a couple more seasons.  

Unfortunately, that isn’t how it worked out.  Boozer will get waived via the amnesty clause next summer, and the Bulls will move forward with Rose, Deng, Gibson, and Noah, and they will try to bring in a bigger name in the future. After this season, Boozer will probably find a nice, new home for about $3 million a year for about 2 years.  

Who knows?  He could go with a veteran minimum and sign with a team like Boston, Miami, OKC, or the Lakers to try to win a championship.  You just never know. 

[Author]

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