With their two biggest competitors for Dwyane Wade’s services — the Knicks and the Bulls — both successfully pulling off deadline deals to clear additional cap space, the Miami Heat scrambled to add Amare Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer to the mix to keep Wade happy (and in town). We don’t know what they offered, but whatever it was, it apparently wasn’t enough, because the Heat will try to make the playoffs with the same lineup that has the team at 28-27 and in the #7 spot in the East. To make matters worse, Wade heard a “pop” in his calf on Wednesday night and could miss some time, further hindering Miami’s postseason hopes.

Like the Heat, the Knicks now have enough cap space to sign two “max” free agents, and if LeBron is unavailable, they could go to Wade and ask him who he wants to play with — Chris Bosh? Amare Stoudemire? Carlos Boozer? — and sign both. Wade could get the same deal (and a little more money) from the Heat, but will he hold Miami’s inability to bring help this season against them? Meanwhile, the Bulls (Wade’s hometown team) unloaded John Salmons and Tyrus Thomas, clearing the way for a max offer this summer. Wade would look nice in a lineup with Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah.

I give the Heat credit — they sure tried to acquire a big name. But they failed, and the fact that they were scrambling up until the deadline indicates that they think that losing Wade this summer is a real possibility. And they’re right.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

ESPN’s Ric Bucher tweeted this 15 minutes ago:

This is ESPN Rumor Central fodder for now but too tantalizing not to mention: 11th-hour talks are on that would send Boozer to Miami.

Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski followed up with this:

Utah and Miami have recruited Wiz to be 3rd team in Boozer talks. Wash would get cap relief out of it. Beasley not involved, source says.

Michael Beasley wouldn’t seem like a good fit with Jerry Sloan, so it makes sense that Wojnarowski is saying that he’s not involved. But who would the Jazz get in this deal? Udonis Haslem? Jermaine O’Neal? Josh Howard? Al Thornton? Mike Miller?

I’ve always thought that Miller was destined to play in Utah, but would he be worth giving up Boozer and the team’s shot at a playoff run this year? Maybe the Jazz would go for Miller and one of the Heat’s first round picks.

Wojnarowski says that Washington will get salary cap relief out of it, but they only have one bad contract (Gilbert Arenas) on the books for next season, so he must be talking about relief this season. How about this trade which would send Miller and Dorrell Wright (and one of Miami’s first round picks) to Utah, Udonis Haslem to Washington (trimming $2.8 million from this year’s payroll) and Boozer to Miami?

Photo from fOTOGLIF

The Dallas Mavericks offered up an all-about-the-money trade for Carlos Boozer and were rejected, per Marc Stein.

Using Drew Gooden’s partially guaranteed contract and two players it wound up trading to the New Jersey Nets days later – Kris Humphries and Shawne Williams – Dallas could assemble a package of contracts high enough to reach the salary range of Boozer’s $12.3 million expiring contract to make the trade math work … but low enough to net an initial savings of $2.5 million for the Jazz.

The Jazz, though, have been telling teams for months that they won’t give Boozer away. A recent slump that dragged its record to 19-17 before Saturday’s thumping win over the Mavs in Dallas apparently hasn’t changed that stance.

As noted in this cyberspace when Eric Maynor and retirement-bound Matt Harpring were dealt to the Thunder in December — which sliced its luxury-tax bill this season from $12.6 million to a much more manageable $4.8 million — Utah set itself up to be a lot more choosy when such attempts to steal Boozer inevitably rolled in.

Since the summer we’ve heard repeatedly that the Jazz want at least one keeper in return in addition to payroll relief if they’re going to consent to a Boozer deal. And that was when their luxury-tax bill was going to approach $13 million.

I’m honestly a little surprised that a deal isn’t already done, but if these are the kinds of offers that the Jazz are getting, I don’t blame them for continuing to pass. Why give away a productive and healthy top 30 player to save $5 million in luxury tax? If the Jazz move Boozer before the trade deadline, it will serve a serious blow to their playoff hopes, and the team will lose the revenue generated from its postseason home games. Figure about $500K per game (after the NBA takes its cut) and the Jazz stand to earn $1 million from a minimum of two home games in the playoffs. Visiting teams also get a cut of the gate receipts, so they stand to make money on the road as well.

So while the luxury tax is a concern, it’s not the overriding factor for the Jazz. Like Stein said, they need a keeper out of the deal, and my guess is that at the trade deadline draws closer, they’ll get one.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

The Utah Jazz are willing to trade just about anyone on their roster, per Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports…

Concerned about a lackluster start that has left them in ninth place in the Western Conference and motivated not to pay a hefty luxury-tax bill for moderate success, the Utah Jazz appear willing to trade anyone on their roster but point guard Deron Williams, multiple league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Carlos Boozer, who is making $12.6 million in the final season of his contract, has attracted interest, but sources said the Jazz have yet to enter any substantive trade talks involving the forward. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan has told management he’d prefer to keep Boozer for the season to help with the team’s playoff push, but ownership wants to avoid paying as much luxury tax as possible.

Rival executives think the Jazz have been asking for too much for Boozer, and that most teams who trade for him would want assurances they have a good chance to re-sign him over the summer.

Utah’s payroll is pretty reasonable next season (~$58 million) so presumably they’re looking to trim salary this season. With a payroll of $77 million, the Jazz are going to have a tough time getting below the luxury tax threshold (~$70 million), but any money they can save will also reduce the tax they’ll have to pay.

The Jazz aren’t going to get equal value for Boozer for a couple of reasons: 1) the general consensus is that he’s leaving after the season, and 2) Chris Bosh looks more likely to leave Toronto, and Bosh is more coveted around the league due to his age and durability (i.e. teams like the Heat may elect to wait and see how the Bosh situation develops before exploring a deal for their Plan B). Look for the Jazz to execute a deal that cuts $1-$2 million in payroll and lands a decent young prospect or a first round pick.

Then again, Jerry Sloan would like to keep Boozer for a playoff push and he has more than a little pull in Salt Lake City.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

To betray is to “be disloyal to one’s country, organization, or ideology by acting in the interests of an enemy.” In the world of sports, a betrayal can refer to any number of things: a beloved star choosing to play for a bitter rival, someone who breaks the public’s trust or even a head coach who lies to his boss about where his loyalties lie. As part of our ongoing Decade Debate series, we chose the ten biggest betrayals of the last ten years. (By the way, we’re focused on sports business related betrayals only, so Tiger Woods, Mike Vick and Roger Clemens are safe. For now.)

10. NHL cancels the 2004-05 season.

After failing for months to come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, the NHL finally canceled the 2004-05 season in February of ’05. The dispute between the owners and the NHLPA covered a number of issues, but the biggest was the owners’ proposal of a salary cap that was tied to league revenues, similar to the NBA salary cap. The NHLPA rejected every offer that included a salary cap and the season had to be canceled. A majority of fans blamed the players due to their out-of-control salaries and unwillingness to accept a cap, which is something that both the NBA and NFL – two very successful leagues — have in different forms. Finally, in the summer of 2005, the players association ratified an agreement (which – surprise, surprise — included a salary cap tied to league revenue) and the lockout ended after 310 days. It marks the only time that a North American professional sports league ever canceled and entire season over a labor dispute. In the end, the NHLPA’s stubbornness was fruitless; the owners got their salary cap and the fans got screwed out of year of hockey. Way to go, guys. – John Paulsen

9. Damon skips Bean Town for the Big Apple.

There are some things in life that are just wrong. One is watching any of the “Twilight” movies alone as a single man. Another is flossing in public. Wearing sandals with a nice pair of slacks is also a terrible idea. Regardless of your opinion of these faux pas, we can all agree that a player jumping ship from the Red Sox to the Yankees (or vice versa) is a huge no-no. Babe Ruth never wanted to leave – he was sold. But guys like former Red Sox manger Ed Barrow (took over as Yankees GM), Wade Boggs, and Johnny Damon – they had a choice. Only one season removed from helping the BoSox capture their first World Series since 1918, Damon signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the Bronx Bombers. The Red Sox Nation cried “foul,” but Damon claimed his former team didn’t push further than their initial four-year, $40 million offer. Nevertheless, the fans felt slighted. Damon had flourished in Boston, racking up career numbers and gaining celebrity status. He hit the memorable leadoff homerun in Game 4 of the 2004 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. The blast was all the Red Sox needed to extinguish the curse. (They would go on to win the game 3-0 and the World Series in a sweep.) But he was gone, ready to face the chorus of boos from former fans, and prepped to win a championship in pinstripes four years later. In the end, a t-shirt I saw at a Fenway Park merchant’s booth said it all. A crude picture of Damon adorned the front: “Looks like Jesus, throws like Mary.” – Christopher Glotfelty

Read the rest of this entry »

I thought about awarding this to Deron Williams for his 27-point, nine-assist, seven-rebound effort in Utah’s 113-99 win over the Spurs, but then I remembered that Tony Parker isn’t exactly known for his defensive prowess. Tim Duncan is. So that makes Carlos Boozer’s line — 27 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots — all that more impressive. He went 12-20 (60%) from the field and regularly scored on Duncan, who has been named to the All-Defensive team 12 times in his illustrious career.

The final score should be no surprise. The game was in Utah, and the Jazz had their backs up against the wall a little bit as they started out the season with a 1-3 record, which included a home loss to the Rockets.

Spurs rookie DeJuan Blair had another nice game, posting 14 points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes. He’s averaging 9.8 points and 8.5 rebounds through four games and is shooting better than 70% from the field. The Spurs will use him extensively during the season to keep Duncan as fresh as possible for a playoff run.

If this story is true, it’s mind-boggling…

The hottest Carlos Boozer tale to blip onto the radar this week: Sources say Memphis had the option of trading for Boozer instead of Zach Randolph earlier this month.

Yet the Grizz decided, apparently with considerable input from coach Lionel Hollins, that Boozer would have been less than thrilled to play out the final season of his contract in Graceland, thus convincing them that Randolph — starting over for the third time — would be more productive.

As difficult as it remains for many league observers to digest the idea that Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley felt he could no longer afford Pau Gasol but now is willing to give the combustible Randolph some $33 million over the next two seasons, there’s little doubt that Randolph will feature hugely for the Grizz next season.

It’s not like Randolph is a guy who has been mired in a bad situation his entire career. He has been with three different teams and they all wanted to get rid of him. It’s unbelievable that the Grizzlies had a shot at Boozer and instead decided to go with Randolph, who isn’t half the player and has a far worse contract. The piece is correct — the Randolph trade makes the decision to get rid of Pau Gasol all the more insane.

GM Kevin O’Connor disputes the notion that he and Carlos Boozer’s camp have mutually agreed to a trade.

Utah Jazz GM Kevin O’ Connor refuted a statement by Boozer that he and the Jazz had mutually agreed to a trade during an interview with 1320 KFAN on Tuesday afternoon. O’Connor dismissed Boozer’s recent assertions that a trade from Utah was imminent, saying that the power forward is committed to a contract and must fulfill it.

“We have not told Carlos that we will trade him,” said Jazz player personnel director Kevin O’Connor in a Twitter post by David Locke of KFAN. “We have not mutually agreed to trade him. We are here to win games.”

This could be a case of the Jazz just trying to play down their desperation/desire to move Boozer in the attempt to get the best possible deal. It’s the difference between someone using terms like “must sell” and “firm” when trying to sell a car.

The Jazz just spent a sizable sum on Paul Millsap and it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to have two of your highest paid players playing the same position. Utah is now deep into luxury tax territory, and since Boozer’s contract is expiring, the Jazz aren’t just going to trade him for expiring deals. They need to get a good young prospect out of the deal, or else they’ll just hold onto Boozer for the rest of the season.

The Jazz are still very likely to move him, but it may not happen until the trade deadline. Typically, the best possible deals occur in the summer, so I’d expect Boozer to be moved before the season starts, though there’s no guarantee it will happen.

Carlos Boozer wants to play in Miami.

The two-time NBA All-Star said Monday that he and the Jazz have “mutually agreed” to a trade, and it would be “a beautiful thing” if he wound up reunited with Olympic teammate Dwyane Wade on the Heat.

“We first came here for tax reasons and fell in love with it,” Boozer said, taking a break from his campers. “We love the palm trees, the laid-back attitude, the sun, quality of life. It’s like paradise here, and I would love to be part of the Heat. They’re a very good team, and I’m real close to some of the guys. Dwyane and I started to get close at the Athens Olympics in 2004, and I’d love to play on his team. Plus, I already live here. I’m just waiting to see what happens.”

The Heat have a few trade chips, but when considering Boozer, who is in the final year of his contract, the Jazz aren’t going to want to take only expiring salaries in a trade. They might as well keep him for the year and hope they can make some noise in the playoffs.

Udonis Haslem is a good player, but he’s in the final year of his deal. Would Miami be willing to part with Michael Beasley? Would Jerry Sloan even want him? Miami may need to get a third team involved to facilitate this deal.

Read the rest of this entry »