Boozer Bungle

Marc Stein just wrote an interesting article about the league's interest in a Boozer trade. Apparently, last week the Mavericks wanted him in a pure money deal in which Dallas would get Boozer and Utah would get money relief and an expiring Gooden contract. This clearly isn't going to happen. The Jazz have already parted with a great talent for the sake of money (Eric Maynor is also feature today on ESPN.com as a "rookie gem") and the management has said repeatedly that they are not going to throw Carlos away.

This article was important because it revealed what the current Boozer stock is in the NBA: next to nothing. He is simply worth money, but not worth a respectable player in a trade. This is something that most Jazz fans have already realized. He is a very talented basketball player, don't get me wrong, but he has certain weaknesses that make him unworthy of a trade in the long run. He can consistently score 20 points and nab 10 rebounds, which is no small feat. He cannot, however, be an integral part of a championship team unless he is surrounded by good defensive players, particularly a shot-blocking center.

These are my fears with Boozer. Again, this is not a very good Jazz team. If the playoffs were to begin today, they would be left in Salt Lake City twidling their thumbs. I was hoping that we could trade him for some young talent this season such as a Noah from Chicago. Alas, this doesn't appear to be in the cards, at least at this point in the season, and Feburary (and the trade deadline) creeps ever closer. We must remain optimistic that the Knicks play worse and that we can get a good draft pick. For now, let's hope that the Jazz continue to play at a top-five (!) level and can at least put up a fight in the playoffs, if they make it that far.