The Sports Guy lists his top 15 “What ifs?” of the decade.
Here’s his take on Boozer and the Cavs…
15. What if Carlos Boozer never screwed over Cleveland?
This saga becomes more astounding over time: Inexplicably (the version in which you believe Cleveland would just walk away from an option year worth $700,000 and allow Boozer to become a restricted free agent for no good reason) or explicably (the version in which you believe the Cavs made an illegal handshake deal to “forgo” Boozer’s option year, allow him to become a restricted free agent, then sign him to a $41 million deal), the one thing we know is Boozer used his newfound leverage to sign a six-year deal with Utah for $68 million and screw over Cleveland’s benevolent, blind owner in the process.
Look what’s happened since:
A. Boozer blossomed into an All-Star power forward and one of the best 20 players in the league, someone who would have been the perfect sidekick for LeBron James.
B. Because Boozer bolted Cleveland, that eventually left the Cavs with a ton of cap space … and, um … (take a deep breath, Cavs fans) … the Larry Hughes, Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall signings. Ouch.
C. Had they kept Boozer and signed Jones as well, the Cavs could have been the first NBA team to start two players with visible chest hair since the 1953 Fort Wayne Pistons.
By the way, he’s still campaigning to be the Bucks’ new GM. I like him as a writer, but I don’t want him running my team. If the stars align and he were to somehow get the job, I think I’d stop rooting for Milwaukee and start rooting for the Lakers. Seriously.
