by Mick on Fri Jul 09, 2004 9:10 am
WOW! There's a fiar bit of negativity floating around here. My view...
From what I can understand, the Cavs let him become a free agent based on the assumption that he would re-sign. I have also read that he was going to explore his options.
Everyone is so quick to have a go at him, but think about what the teams do. They trade players to suit their own needs. Very rarely do they demonstrate any kind of loyalty, always looking for the best deal right now. Yes there have been some exceptions, but for the most part it's true. If teams were loyal, there wouldn't be nearly as much trading going on. Players wouldn't need to 'explore' free ageny because they would feel as though they will receive fair compensation from their team. But it doesn't work that way.
And what about Boozer? Apparently he was going to receive around $40 million from Cleveland. The Jazz offered him (apparently) $68 odd million for the same duration (?). From a financial standpoint, it's not really a tough decision. Sure, there are other factors that come into it (PT, team members, etc). But if a Team is run on a financial basis, why can't a player decide on the same scale?
Yes, the Cavs had a young, solid and potentially great team with Boozer in the lineup. But now so do Utah. Potentailly great. Perhaps later on Boozer will regreat this decision, but then again it may be proove to be the right move.
Before you crucify Boozer, consider all sides......