Wednesday, July 7, 2010
AP source: Boozer agrees to deal with Bulls
CHICAGO (AP)—Carlos Boozer(notes) is headed to the Chicago Bulls.
A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that the two-time All-Star forward agreed to a deal on Wednesday and is leaving the Utah Jazz after six seasons. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the contract doesn’t become official until Thursday, did not reveal the terms.
Boozer becomes the latest chip to fall on a day when Dwyane Wade(notes) and Chris Bosh(notes) confirmed they will play in Miami next season
The jewel of this star-studded free-agent class, LeBron James(notes), is still out there. While everyone awaits his announcement on Thursday night, the Bulls at least know they’re not coming away empty-handed after landing Boozer.
With about $30 million in salary cap room, the Bulls were looking to make a big splash in free agency after back-to-back first-round playoff exits. Adding Boozer strengthens their standing in the Eastern Conference—and maybe makes them more attractive to James, his former teammate.
Boozer averaged 19.5 points and 11.2 rebounds last season. His arrival gives the Bulls a formidable pair in the frontcourt with Joakim Noah(notes), not to mention a good pick-and-roll partner for All-Star point guard Derrick Rose(notes).
There is some irony to this. Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson’s brother, Jim, was Cleveland’s general manager when Boozer left the Cavaliers following the 2003-04 season.
Cleveland, which could have exercised a one-year option after Boozer’s second season, thought they had a six-year, $41 million agreement in place and let him hit the market. Boozer wound up accepting a six-year, $68 million dollar contract as a restricted free agent that Cleveland chose not to match.
Jim Paxson is now a Bulls’ consultant and scout.
Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor did not immediately return a voicemail seeking comment Wednesday.
With Boozer, the Bulls finally have a big man who will command double-teams — something they’ve craved for years—and can hit the jumper. They now have two double-double players, with Noah averaging 10.7 points and 11.0 rebounds last season, and can still add a perimeter player.
If they don’t get James, they could go after someone like Kyle Korver(notes), Mike Miller(notes) or even Ray Allen(notes), although he has said he wants to return to Boston.
Boozer, meanwhile, has been limited by injuries in three of his six seasons with Utah and has clashed at times with management. But he played in 78 games the past season.
The U.S. Olympian would be one of the top prizes in free agency most summers, but this one has been anything but typical.
Teams spent years trying to create enough cap space to land the likes of James, Bosh and Wade, who came into the league seven years ago and structured their contracts to hit the market this summer—the last under the current collective bargaining agreement.
The free agent list included other stars such as Amare Stoudemire, who left Phoenix for the New York Knicks, along with Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki(notes) and Boston’s Paul Pierce(notes). They wound up staying with their teams.
The Bulls, meanwhile, put themselves in position to be major players by allowing Ben Gordon(notes) to sign with Detroit a year ago and trading John Salmons(notes) during the season. That gave them enough room to offer a maximum contract, but they didn’t stop there.
They agreed to trade Kirk Hinrich(notes) and his $9 million salary along with the 17th pick to Washington on draft day, putting them about $30 million under the cap. That deal becomes official Thursday, when the Wizards can take on Hinrich’s salary for next season without having to send back something of similar financial value
Is Chris Johnson ready for a compromise?
Jim Wyatt of the Nashville Tennessean reports that running back Chris Johnson and the Tennessee Titans are discussing a contract extension that could end Johnson's holdout.
Johnson has refused to take part in any offseason activities after gaining 2,006 yards rushing and 2,509 yards from scrimmage in 2009, and coming into a 2010 season in which his base salary would be $550,000. Wyatt's report indicates that Johnson has escalators that would pay him an additional $2.5 million in 2012, but that the money could be turned into a signing bonus in 2010 for a more reasonable extension than the one Johnson is asking for.
The third-year back has said that he wants a new deal that would guarantee him $30 million — a very dangerous number given the general fragility of elite running back excellence and the high injury rate among even the best in the business — but it's possible that team and player are looking to pinpoint a compromise that would please everybody involved
One thing that stands in the Titans' way even if they wanted to give Johnson a huge new contract is the 30 Percent Rule, a proviso in the post-CBA labor landscape in the NFL that precludes teams from giving players extensions larger than 30 percent over the previous year's earnings. Still, the San Francisco 49ers got creative and circumvented the rule when giving an extension to All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis(notes), giving him stacked signing bonuses and injury-based guarantees. This, of course, proves that any team is capable of rewarding its best players if they want to badly enough. Titans general manager Mike Reinfeldt is known as a hard negotiator, but even he must realize that paying Johnson a little over half a million dollars in a season where he's a good bet to lead the league in rushing for the second straight season would be ridiculous.
Moving Johnson's 2012 bonus wouldn't take care of the larger issue, but it would get the problem solved in the short term. With quarterback Vince Young(notes) still getting the hang of the NFL offense (though he looked much better last season) and a defense in transition, the Titans desperately need Johnson in camp, in games, and at his best if they hope to compete in what projects to be a brutally competitive AFC South division.
Note: You'll want to stay tuned to Shutdown Corner through the week, as we're covering the Nike 7ON tournament, and a number of NFL stars will be in attendance. Rumor has it that the subject of this very post might be one of them ... and we might get a few words with him and others. We'll have a 7ON preview on Wednesday, and blogs from the site on Thursday and Friday.
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